The Dark Lady Rules
by cleotheo
Summary: Part 2 of The Dark Lady Trilogy. With Voldemort out of the picture it's time for Hermione to step up and take charge of the Death Eaters. At the same time she has to contend with keeping her dark secret from Harry and Ron. Romance also blossoms for The Dark Lady as she finally gets the wizard she's always dreamt of, Draco Malfoy. Dark Hermione!
1. Hermione takes charge

**A/N – Thanks to everyone who read The Dark Lady Rises, I hope you enjoy The Dark Lady Rules. This story is a lot longer than part 1 and has 42 chapters in total. **

**This story takes place over the course of sixth year and seventh year. Given what happened at the Ministry at the end of part 1, things run very differently. In this part Hermione's future plans begin to reveal themselves and the difference between how she and her father approach things becomes clear as the story develops.**

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In the large dining room at Malfoy Manor the Death Eaters began to assemble. For the first time since The Dark Lord's demise they had been summoned by The Dark Lady. Lucius Malfoy had summoned them shortly after Voldemort's death for a quick meeting, but this was the first time their mark's had burnt in months.

"This is bloody ridiculous." Bellatrix Lestrange complained loudly. "The little cow calls us here, only to make us wait."

"You can't call her that, Bella." Her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange hissed. "If she hears, she'll be fuming."

"Yes, she will." A voice from the doorway said.

The whole room's attention turned to the door as Lucius Malfoy walked into the room. As he walked to the head of the table, Lucius ordered the Death Eaters into place. Most of them obeyed the man that used to be Voldemort's right hand man, but Bellatrix remained standing in front of her brother-in-law.

"And what gives you the right to issue orders?" Bellatrix sneered.

"That would be me." The Dark Lady, otherwise known as Hermione Granger, announced as she walked into the room and made her way to Lucius's side. As usual she was wearing her long, blood red cloak that hid her identity. "Is there a reason you're not in your seat, Bella?"

Bellatrix glared at Hermione for a few seconds, before turning round and stomping to her place at the bottom of the table. Much to her chagrin she still hadn't managed to move any further up the table and was still stuck near the bottom of the table which reflected her lowly standing within the Death Eaters these days.

"First things first, I am taking over." Hermione announced. "Your loyalty is now to me. Does anyone have a problem with that?"

Hermione watched as a few of the Death Eaters grumbled to the person next to them. While most of them had accepted her and had no problem with her taking over, Hermione knew a handful of her father's followers still resented the fact she'd seemingly appeared from nowhere and was now taking charge.

"Well I'm not standing for it." One Death Eater that sat at the bottom of the table announced as he stood up. "I'm not taking orders from a woman, especially one I haven't even seen."

"Then I suggest it's time for you to go." Hermione responded coldly.

As the Death Eater turned to leave, Hermione took her wand out of her cloak. Pointing it at the Death Eater she waited until his hand reached out for the doorknob.

"Avada Kedavra."

The green light shot from Hermione's wand, hitting the Death Eater in the back. There were several shocked faces and gasps around the room as the assembled Death Eaters realised what had just happened.

"Does anyone else have a problem with me?" Hermione asked, looking around the room.

Everyone either shook their heads or murmured a quiet 'No My Lady'. Hermione slowly turned her attention towards Bellatrix and waited to see her response. Hermione knew she wanted to argue against following her, but she also knew her display had made the older witch uneasy. Bellatrix valued her life far too much to try and walk away when she knew she would likely be killed.

"Good." Hermione nodded, when there was no more complaints. "First things first, I want to set a few rules. When I call a meeting I expect everyone to be on time, latecomers will be punished. If you don't show up, I need a valid reason why." Hermione paused to let her words sink in before she turned to the Carrow siblings that sat in the middle of the table. "Alecto, Amycus, how would you two like a special assignment?"

"We'd be honoured, My Lady." Amycus replied.

"Good, you two will be in charge of dealing with people who fail to attend meetings." Hermione told the twins.

"How do you want us to deal with them?" Alecto asked.

"I'll leave that to your discretion. You can deal with people based on what reason they have not to show up." Hermione replied, knowing the duo had a reputation as being particularly cruel and not many of the Death Eaters would want to cross them.

"Thank you, My Lady." Amycus grinned wickedly. "We won't let you down."

"I'm sure you won't." Hermione chuckled. "Now onto the next order of business. It's time to make our presence felt again. Since my father's death we've been lying low, letting the Order think we've gone. It's time to let them know we still mean business and we're as deadly as ever. In the following week we're staging an attack on Diagon Alley. Lucius is in charge and he'll contact you in due course if you're part of the attack."

"And what if we're not included in your plans?" Bellatrix asked, her distaste for Hermione evident in her voice.

"If you're not involved in this plan, you carry on your life as normal. There's a role for everyone in this room, but sometimes you have to be patient and wait your turn." Hermione answered. "I also want to announce that Lucius is my right hand man. I will not always be attending meetings and Lucius will often be in charge. While I may not always be present I will always know what's going on, so anyone who defies Lucius will answer to me."

After her earlier display with the Death Eater who wanted to leave and an incident months ago when she'd tortured another Death Eater, the assembled group knew she wasn't kidding and she wasn't someone to be messed with.

"That will be all for now." Hermione announced. "You may leave."

Without waiting for the Death Eaters to leave, Hermione rose and swept out of the dining room. Hermione heard the chattering Death Eaters exit the room after her, but she paid them no attention as she headed towards Lucius's study. Once in the safety of Lucius's study she shed her robe and hung it in a cupboard where the blond man stored his own Death Eater outfit. A few days previously it had been decided that Hermione would leave her cloak at the Manor for when she was attending meetings.

Once her cloak was hung up Hermione walked over to the mirror and cast a few glamour charms on her appearance. Her curly brown hair that was currently hanging loose down her back turned a deep shade of auburn and she clipped it at the nape of her neck with a silver pin. She then changed her eyes so they were green and changed her eye make-up so it matched her freshly changed eyes. With a final sweep of her wand Hermione changed the clear lip gloss she was wearing to a deep shade of plum.

Hermione had just turned away from the mirror, satisfied with her appearance when the study door opened and Lucius entered. Behind Lucius was the figure of her Potions Professor, Severus Snape. Hermione had asked Lucius to bring Snape into his study after the meeting as she wanted to talk with the wizard.

"Severus, please sit down." Hermione said to the wizard. It felt extremely odd to be referring to Snape by his first name, but she knew she could hardly go around calling him Professor or Sir.

Snape took one of the seats opposite Lucius's desk, while Hermione settled down next to him. Lucius pulled his chair around from behind the desk and joined them, forming a rough circle with his seat.

"I want to discuss your role in things." Hermione began. "I know how things worked with father and on a whole I want to keep that up. Although instead of private meetings with me, they will be with Lucius."

"May I ask why?" Snape asked, studying the young witch in front of him carefully. The only other time he'd met her was at the masquerade ball over New Year and he knew she was currently wearing a series of glamour charms, leaving him to wonder if he knew her since she was taking such care to hide her real features.

"It's precautionary." Hermione answered. "As much as I would love to say I trust all the Death Eaters, I don't. I have to accept that there's a possibility my presence as leader will leak to the Order."

"I wouldn't tell." Snape interrupted immediately. "I haven't mentioned you so far. I was loyal to your father and I will be loyal to you."

"I know you haven't told and I appreciate your loyalty." Hermione smiled. "But this actually hasn't got anything to do with you personally, I want to protect your place within the Order. If they find out about me, I don't want you jeopardised by the fact you've never mentioned me."

"Surely it's too late for that." Snape said.

"Not necessarily." Lucius said. "If your main contact is me and you only attend meetings when I'm in charge you can claim not to know about The Dark Lady."

"As far as you're concerned, Lucius is the one in charge." Hermione stated. "The Order know the arrangement you had with my father excusing you from meetings in term time, you just claim Lucius gave you the same arrangement."

"I can make that work." Snape said thoughtfully. "But do you really think the Order will learn of your existence?"

"I hope not, or at least I hope it's not anytime soon." Hermione replied. "For the time being it suits me that people think Lucius is the one running things. But my father always told me to prepare for every eventuality, so I'm being cautious."

"I understand." Snape nodded. "I'll keep you informed of any whispers I might hear."

"Thank you Severus." Hermione smiled at her Potions Professor once again. "We appreciate your loyalty. Speaking of which, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"Go ahead." Snape said.

"Why are you so loyal to the dark?" Hermione asked, getting straight to the thing that had been bugging her for months. "Father told me all about Lily Potter and your feelings for her. Why are you supporting the dark, when my father killed her?"

"He didn't." Snape answered, shocking both Hermione and Lucius.

"I don't understand." Lucius said. "Everyone knows the story of the night the Potter's died and The Dark Lord lost his powers."

"Like you, I was under the impression The Dark Lord had killed Lily and her wretched husband. Until The Dark Lord returned last year and we spoke for the first time since that night." Snape said. "He told me what really happened."

"And what did happen?" Hermione asked, wondering why her father had never told her what had happened with Harry's parents. Like everyone else she was under the impression he had killed them to get to Harry.

"When he arrived at the Potter's, Lily and James were in bed. They never woke up as he went into the nursery and tried to kill Harry." Snape explained. "When he tried to kill Harry that was when Dumbledore's curse struck and robbed your father of his powers."

"What curse?" Lucius asked. "What does Dumbledore have to do with anything?"

"The day of the Potter's deaths, I overheard The Dark Lord saying he knew where they were and he was heading out that night to kill Harry. I knew he would kill Lily to get to Harry, so I went to Dumbledore and begged him to warn them."

"Why didn't he?" Hermione frowned in confusion. She didn't get why Dumbledore hadn't moved the family if he'd known her father was coming for them.

"He had another solution." Snape spat, clearly disgusted with the headmaster and whatever he had done. "He'd been researching a spell that would rob your father of his powers and he spotted the opportunity to use it. The day I warned him about your father he went to visit the Potters, but he didn't tell them anything. Instead he cast the curse on Harry which would defeat your father when he tried to kill him."

"How do Potter's parents fit into this?" Lucius asked. "How did they die?"

"The same way The Dark Lord lost his powers, the curse Dumbledore placed on Harry. While it cost The Dark Lord his magic the curse cost Harry his parents."

"Dumbledore was responsible for their deaths." Hermione gasped in shock. "But how do you know all this?"

"After your father told me what happened that night, I went to confront Dumbledore. I'd seen your father's memories and I know he didn't touch Lily. She had to have died somehow and her body placed in the nursery, so I went to the first person on the scene." Snape paused to compose himself as talking about Lily's death wasn't the easiest thing for him to do. "I was furious and demanded answers. Dumbledore told me everything I've just told you. He also showed no remorse, in his eyes sacrificing Lily and James was worth it to incapacitate your father."

"What did you do?" Lucius asked.

"I'd already promised The Dark Lord I would remain as a spy for him so I let Dumbledore think he'd talked me around." Snape answered. "I told him I would keep quiet on the proviso he backed off from Harry and let him make his own decisions."

Dumbledore's bizarre attitude towards Harry the previous year was suddenly making more sense to Hermione. She'd always felt there was something else going on, but just couldn't work out what.

"But, they're back to normal now." Hermione said, suddenly remembering how close the pair were once again. "He's stopped backing off, why?"

"With your father gone I don't have his memories, meaning it's my word against Dumbledore's." Snape replied. "Dumbledore made it clear that if I ever tell Harry the truth, he'll claim I'm lying and the memories I've got were planted by your father in a bid to cause trouble."

"That sounds like Dumbledore, the manipulative old git." Lucius grumbled. "Do you think this information can help us any?" He asked, turning to Hermione.

"Maybe, but we can discuss it later." Hermione said. "I just needed to understand why Severus was loyal to us."

"I'm loyal because your father didn't kill the woman I loved." Snape said quietly. "Dumbledore did, and I want to see him pay."

"He will." Hermione grinned evilly. "Don't worry about that."

Snape smiled briefly before nodding and rising from his seat. After saying goodbye he left the study, leaving Hermione and Lucius to contemplate what they had just discovered.

"I've got the file you asked for on the new Minister." Lucius said after a few minutes, breaking the silence in the room.

"I'll take it with me, but give me a brief rundown." Hermione said. "What's your opinion on him?"

"He's exactly what the public wanted right after your father's defeat, a Minister who openly backs Dumbledore and Potter and condemns Fudge for his stubbornness." Lucius answered. "However he's not good enough for the job. Without Dumbledore whispering in his ear he wouldn't know what to do."

"I want rid of him." Hermione declared. "We can't have a Minister who's so easily influenced by Dumbledore."

"Do we want one of our men in the job?" Lucius asked. "We have several Death Eaters within the Ministry."

"It doesn't matter, as long as they're not in Dumbledore's fan club they'll do." Hermione replied. "I've got a long term plan, but for now just get rid of the idiot in charge."

"Consider it done." Lucius smirked.

Hermione nodded as she stood up and stretched. "I really should be going, good night Lucius."

"Good night, My Lady." Lucius smiled. "Send your father my regards."

"I will." Hermione said, taking the file Lucius had prepared for her about the Minister and heading for the fireplace.

Hermione flooed home and landed in her father's study, which was actually now her study. Dropping the file on the table she removed her glamour charms and went off in search of her father. Despite now having no magic he was still alive and thanks to the potions Lucius provided him with every week he was still able to get about the house with relative ease.

"Hermione." Voldemort smiled widely as Hermione entered the front room, where her parents were sitting talking quietly. "Your mother was telling me all about the meeting. It sounds like you handled things perfectly."

"I hope so, I was so nervous." Hermione admitted.

"It didn't show." Kathleen reassured her daughter. "You were brilliant."

Hermione smiled at her mother as she settled down next to her father and told him about the meeting. Despite Voldemort not wanting to get involved with the Death Eaters, he was still interested in hearing how his daughter was handling things and the plans she had in the pipeline.


	2. A naked Malfoy

**A/N – First I have to say I was absolutely blown away by the response to the first chapter. I can't believe I have nearly 200 follows and nearly 150 faves from just one chapter. Thank you so much to everyone who favourite/followed/reviewed. I appreciate it all so much. **

**After the overwhelming response I decided to post the second chapter today. As from next week updates will be twice a week, most likely at the beginning of the week and the end of the week. I'm still working on part 3 but as I progress with that, updates on part 2 will become quicker.**

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Hermione took one final look at The Daily Prophet before setting it aside with a triumphant smirk. Almost the whole paper was dedicated to the Death Eater attack on Diagon Alley a few days earlier. The attack was purely destructive, aimed to cause chaos and alert the world to the fact the Death Eaters were still a force to be reckoned with.

Hermione was very happy with the results of the attack, Lucius had arranged everything perfectly. She was also happy with the speculation in the papers as to who was running the Death Eaters now. Hermione knew the Order would pinpoint Lucius as the one in charge, but the press seemed much more hesitant to name a leader.

Before the end of the summer Hermione wanted another, potentially more explosive, attack to take place but for the minute she was more than happy with her first few weeks in charge. The important thing for the time being was just to make sure their presence was felt. She did have bigger plans, which involved getting rid of Dumbledore, but those would take time and she didn't want to be idle until then.

Getting up from the desk, Hermione walked over to the fire and grabbed the pot of floo powder. She then flooed to Malfoy Manor, where she pulled her cloak from the cupboard in Lucius's office and put it on. The Death Eater meeting she was on her way to attend was just a short one and would only likely take half an hour or so.

Once she'd pulled the hood up Hermione left Lucius's office and headed to the dining room. Halfway there she ran into Lucius and the pair walked the rest of the way together, discussing a few other matters as they went. When they arrived at the dining room a few stragglers were just taking their places either around the table or around the side of the room.

Walking to the head of the table, Hermione checked for any absentees. She spotted three empty places, one belonged to Snape while the other two were unaccounted for. Gaining the Carrow's attention to gestured to the empty spaces, giving them their first assignment. She'd spoken to the pair a few days earlier and explained that at the start of each meeting she would point out the absent spaces of people she wanted dealing with. It was too risky just letting the siblings spot the spaces themselves as there might be occasions where Hermione had given a certain person permission to miss the meeting.

"Firstly, I want to congratulate everyone who was involved in the attack on Diagon Alley." Hermione began. "It worked excellently and was a good start to reminding people we're still here. As a result, I want to make a few changes to the seating."

For the next few minutes Hermione rearranged the seating at the table, moving up the Death Eaters that had been involved in the attack and even inviting a few of those standing to take a seat near the bottom. She then explained that from now on people who pleased her would find themselves sitting higher up the table.

"As well as that attack went, I want a more expressive show of our powers." Hermione continued once the seating was sorted. "Bellatrix, my father always said you knew how to get noticed. How do you fancy putting a plan together?"

Hermione smiled as Bellatrix preened at being singled out and quickly accepted her assignment. Despite the fact Hermione wasn't over keen on the older witch she knew things would be much better if she tried to utilise her talents and get her on board.

"I want something big, that'll even get the muggles talking." Hermione told Bella. "In fact you can target muggles if that's what you think best. We can arrange a private meeting in a few days where you can tell me your ideas, then we'll go from there. But as long as I approve everything, you'll be in charge."

"Thank you My Lady." Bellatrix said in a respectful voice. "I won't let you down."

"I'm sure you won't." Hermione replied. "Father always said you were a great Death Eater, and I'm sure you'll prove that with your assignment."

With the first steps towards gaining Bellatrix's support done, Hermione turned her attention to the other few bits of business. Mainly she just wanted to discuss a few minor skirmishes to keep the Order on their toes over the summer. Once that was sorted Hermione dismissed the Death Eaters and she and Lucius headed back to his study.

"How are things progressing with the Minister?" Hermione asked, removing her cloak and hanging it back up.

"He'll be out of a job by the end of summer." Lucius smirked. "The attack on Diagon Alley didn't help him much, but I've got a few other things in line for him."

"Good, as long as he's gone before Dumbledore has managed to influence things too much." Hermione said.

"Don't worry, Dumbledore's influence with the Ministry is weakening daily. We're getting more and more people on our side within the Ministry." Lucius said.

"Excellent." Hermione nodded and was silent for a few minutes before inexplicably changing the subject. "Does Draco still want to join the Death Eaters?"

Lucius was momentarily shocked by the abrupt change of subject, but he quickly regained his composure and answered. "Yes, well as far as I know. He hasn't mentioned changing his mind."

"If he hasn't changed his mind, I think I'll give him the Mark over the summer." Hermione announced.

"He's going to Italy with Blaise and Theo in a few days, but I can put a stop to it." Lucius said.

"No, don't ruin his holiday." Hermione shook her head. "Will he be back before the end of the holidays?"

"He'll be back about three weeks before returning to school."

"I'll give him the Mark when he comes back, providing he still wants it." Hermione replied. "Is he at home at the minute? I'd quite like to talk to him before making a final decision."

"He'll be in his room." Lucius answered. "I can send for him."

"That's alright, just tell me where to find him and I can go myself." Hermione said.

Lucius nodded and gave Hermione directions to Draco's wing of the house and where to locate his bedroom.

"Are you going like that?" Lucius asked as Hermione headed for the door.

Hermione was momentarily puzzled, before realising she had failed to apply any glamour charms. If she went to see Draco in her current state he would be rather shocked to find a muggleborn in his house. Walking over to the mirror she applied a charm on her hair and eyes. Turning her eyes forest green, Hermione then darkened her hair and added a few red streaks, reminiscent of how it was coloured at the masquerade ball. Hermione then clipped her curls back from her eyes and turned to Lucius.

"That's better." Lucius told her. "Draco won't recognise you from school."

Hermione nodded and left Lucius's study in search of Draco. She fully intended on revealing her identity to Draco in time, but first she wanted him to take the mark. Once he had the mark he would be less likely to reveal her identity, even if he did reject her in a romantic way once he knew who she was. Hermione was hoping he wouldn't reject her, but she knew it was a possibility and she certainly wasn't forcing him into doing anything he didn't want to do.

It took Hermione longer than she thought to find Draco's wing, but eventually it looked as though she was in the right place. Following Lucius's directions she headed for where Draco's room was located. When she reached the bedroom the door was open and she peered inside to see if she had the right room. She was certainly standing in a doorway of a bedroom and judging by the belongings lying around and the green and black décor she figured it was indeed Draco's room.

Hermione had only been standing in the doorway for second when she spotted Draco walking over towards the bed, his back to her. The blond had obviously just emerged from the shower as all he was wearing was a towel. Totally stunned Hermione found herself staring at the blond's back, his wet hair was dripping water down his back and Hermione was mesmerised by the droplets sliding over his pale skin.

Hermione was thoroughly enjoying the view and her mouth dropped open when Draco untied the towel and let it fall to the floor. Hermione's eyes roamed over Draco's backside and she could feel a warm flush starting to spread over her body. Shaking her head to get control of herself, Hermione cleared her throat and called out Draco's name.

At the sound Draco whirled round, giving Hermione a full on view of his naked body, which was more toned than she had imagined. Hermione had never seen a naked man, and her eyes quickly fell to Draco's manhood. As she continued to stare at Draco, he began to respond to her blatant staring, causing Hermione's eyes to widen.

Draco himself was rather taken aback to have The Dark Lady in his bedroom and was momentarily frozen. As her eyes devoured his body he couldn't help but responding, and her widening eyes brought him to his senses. Quickly grabbing his boxers he pulled them and his trousers on.

"You didn't have to get dressed on my account." Hermione said, regaining her senses and deciding to have a bit of fun.

"I could undress again if you wanted, My Lady." Draco smirked as he pulled on a dark green t-shirt.

"How did you know who I was?" Hermione asked. She'd been guessing that Draco would know she was The Dark Lady, but she was curious how he was so sure.

"First of all, you're the only person who would be wandering around the Manor." Draco replied. "And I think I've already mentioned that apart from your changing hair and eyes, you look the same."

Hermione couldn't help but smile at the thought that despite Draco saying she looked the same, he'd failed to recognise her in school. Although she had to admit in school she never wore make-up and she never took the time to sort her hair, she usually just tied it up to deal with her wild curls. However at home she spent more time on her appearance and every time she'd seen Draco she'd been put together perfectly.

"Can I come in?" Hermione asked, realising she was still standing in the doorway.

"Of course." Draco looked guilty that he hadn't let Hermione enter earlier as he ushered her inside. While Hermione settled down on the chair beside Draco's desk, he perched on the edge of his bed. "I'm sorry about your father." He said quietly.

"Thank you." Hermione replied with a smile. While her father wasn't really dead she knew Draco thought he was and she appreciated his condolences. "I'm sorry for disturbing you, but I want to talk to you about getting the mark. Are you still interested?"

"Yes." Draco replied immediately. "I want to join the Death Eaters."

"Are you sure? I know you wanted to join when my father was in charge, but are you still happy to sign up with me in charge?"

"I'm more than happy to take orders from you." Draco smirked and winked at Hermione.

"Okay, I think we need to set some ground rules." Hermione chuckled. "I want you to be a Death Eater, but any personal relationship between us remains a private matter. As a Death Eater, I'm your boss and you have to do what I say, regardless of anything else going on between us."

"I understand." Draco nodded. "So does this mean there's something going to happen between us?"

"Possibly." Hermione smiled. "Let's just wait and see, shall we."

"So when do I get the mark?" Draco asked.

"Lucius said you were going on holiday, so I thought we could do it when you came back." Hermione answered.

"I don't have to go on holiday." Draco offered quickly. The thought of staying at home and potentially seeing more of The Dark Lady was very appealing.

"You go and enjoy yourself." Hermione said. "Besides, I've got a lot on these next few weeks. I'll see you when you get back and we can discuss you getting the mark."

"Okay." Draco was slightly disappointed that The Dark Lady wanted him to go away, but he understood that she already had plans for the summer.

"Don't sound so disappointed." Hermione laughed as she stood up. "I have plans for you Draco. Plans that will result in us spending plenty of time together."

"Do I get to know about these plans?" Draco asked.

"Not yet." Hermione shook her head, leaning over and brushed her lips against Draco's cheek. "Have a nice holiday, Draco." She whispered in his ear. "I'll see you in a few weeks."


	3. Draco's Initiation

Hermione stormed furiously around her bedroom as she got dressed for the meeting. Tonight was supposed to be about Draco and his initiation into the Death Eaters, instead thanks to Bellatrix the evening would be overshadowed by her.

Most of the summer had actually ran pretty smoothly and Hermione thought she was finally making progress with Bellatrix. The witch had come up with a plan to attack a muggle city, causing chaos in both the wizarding and muggle worlds. Hermione had liked the plan and as they discussed things further Bellatrix had been moving up the table in meetings as she continued to impress Hermione. Currently her seat was in the middle of the table, nearer to the top than to the bottom.

Last week however had been her big attack and it had gone very wrong. At the last minute Bellatrix had deviated from the plan and changed the time of the attack. Her new timing meant she needed a few extra Death Eaters on the ground to set up the big explosion she had planned. Unbeknown to Hermione and Lucius she'd talked a couple of the newer and younger Death Eaters into helping her and since they hadn't been briefed properly about what they were doing they were caught in the blast and killed.

Hermione was furious when she found out, but it got worse when it emerged that one of the young Death Eaters was Oliver Wood. Oliver's presence at the scene created major headlines in the Wizarding world and Lucius had spent the last week creating a cover story for why he was in the muggle world. Hermione meanwhile had been dealing with his distraught father and reassuring him that Bellatrix wouldn't go unpunished. Hermione knew the best punishment for Bellatrix was humiliating her in front of the other Death Eaters, and that was what she planned on doing at the meeting after Draco was initiated.

Considering what was about to happen Hermione felt that she wanted to show her face, so people could see just how angry she was. So instead of wearing her cloak, Hermione had dressed in a long, tight, black dress that swirled around her legs when she walked. Hermione had enchanted her hair so it was jet black and she let it hang down her back in soft curls. Her eyes had been charmed to be a menacing red, just like her father's, and her make-up was dark and dramatic.

Looking in the mirror Hermione was happy with what she saw. She looked every bit like a vicious, powerful witch who wasn't to be messed with. Adding a pair of knee high black boots under her dress, Hermione grabbed her wand and stalked out of the bedroom.

Her mother had already left for the meeting and when she arrived in the study, Hermione found her father sitting beside the window. Despite the fact Voldemort had handed the study over to her, Hermione didn't mind in the slightest if he entered the room. She didn't even mind if he poked around on the desk and saw what she was doing as she always informed him of what she was up to.

"You look like a woman on a mission." Voldemort commented. His daughter may have only been sixteen, nearing seventeen, but she looked much older than the teenager she was.

"I'm just doing what needs to be doing." Hermione replied. "Bellatrix needs putting in her place. Her stunt cost me two Death Eaters and with Oliver's death things could have gotten complicated. If people knew he'd been a Death Eater everyone would be under suspicion and I can't afford that. We've got too many important people within our numbers."

"You don't need to convince me, princess." Voldemort chuckled. "In your shoes I would be doing the exact same thing. As good as Bella often is, this time she messed up and she must face the consequences."

Hermione nodded at her father and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before flooing to Malfoy Manor. Lucius was waiting for her in his study and he raised a questioning eyebrow at her appearance. Hermione quickly explained that she wasn't wearing her cloak and her reason why before they set off for the dining room.

The dining room was set up in exactly the same way as when she'd initiated Oliver and when she'd tortured Nott. The long table was missing and the Death Eaters were gathered around the room in a circle. As she made her way to the front of the room she heard the murmurs amongst her followers, this was the first time she'd shown up without her cloak and she was betting that a few of the Death Eaters thought this was what she really looked like.

"Tonight we are welcoming someone new to the fold." Hermione announced. Before she dealt with Bellatrix, she was going to give Draco his moment in the limelight. "Lucius, if you would do the honours." She called to her right hand man, who'd remained at the back of the room.

Lucius nodded at Hermione and slipped out of the room for a few seconds. When he returned Draco was following after him, dressed in the black robes of a Death Eater. As the two Malfoy men made their way to the front of the room, Hermione heard the whisperings start up again. This time she was guessing they were talking about her initiating Draco and the fact he was still only sixteen.

"Draco, you understand what taking the mark means, don't you?" Hermione asked, once Draco was standing in front of her.

"I do, My Lady." Draco replied.

"Give me your arm." She ordered.

Draco held out his left arm and Hermione took hold of it. As she had with Oliver she held her hand over where she wanted the mark to appear as she began to concentrate. However as her fingers started grazing over the skin and the dark magic started to work she concentrated on easing the pain for Draco. As his mark formed she kept up a constant stream of pain relief, although she could tell from his expression that it was still slightly painful.

Once she was finished Hermione briefly went over how the mark worked before announcing she was putting a concealment charm on his mark. For a minute Hermione thought Draco was going to argue over the need for a concealment charm, but he didn't. He didn't look overly happy when the dark mark began to disappear from his skin, but he seemed happier once Hermione told him she could lift it at any time and she was just placing the concealment charm as a precaution while he was still at school.

"Welcome to the Death Eaters, Draco." Hermione smiled at the blond. "I'm sure you're going to be a most useful part of our team."

"Thank you, My Lady." Draco grinned at Hermione before dipping his head in a show of respect.

"There is another matter I wish to discuss before the meeting begins." Hermione announced as she sent Draco to stand next to his father. "Bellatrix, get out here."

Bellatrix slowly emerged from the crowd and walked over to Hermione. The Death Eaters could clearly remember what had happened to Nott and there was an air of anticipation in the room. Hermione knew Bellatrix wasn't popular amongst her fellow Death Eaters and she would imagine that a few of them wouldn't be sad to see her suffer.

"You messed up, Bellatrix." Hermione hissed. "The plan was all set and you changed it, why?"

"I wanted to make a bigger splash." Bellatrix responded. "I changed the time to coincide with more people being present and it worked, more muggles were killed this way."

"And two of my Death Eaters also perished." Hermione yelled. "Two Death Eaters who weren't part of the original plan, I might add."

"Even that worked to our advantage." Bellatrix muttered. "Wood's death is in all the papers. Everyone knows what happened."

"Oliver's death is not an advantage." Hermione seethed. "You lost me two valuable young Death Eaters, not to mention the damage control I've had to do with Wood Senior. You're a liability Bella."

Bellatrix opened her mouth to complain but before she had a chance to speak Hermione had her wand whipped out and cast the Cruciatius Curse. Unlike the first time she used the curse Hermione wasn't hesitant in the slightest, instead she funnelled all her anger into the curse. Despite being a hardened Death Eater the pain was still hard for Bellatrix to cope with and small whimpers snuck out of her lips as she writhed on the floor. The torture went on for a good five minutes, before Hermione abruptly lifted the curse.

"Get up." She snarled at Bellatrix.

Once Bellatrix had gotten off the floor and scurried back into the crowds, Hermione asked Lucius to bring back the table. Once the table was in place Hermione called for people to take their seats. As Bellatrix was about to slide into her seat, Hermione stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"No, this isn't your seat anymore." She said to the witch. "There's a seat right at the bottom, you can take that and consider yourself lucky. If it wasn't for all the years of loyal service to my father you would be standing. My father may have gotten you out of Azkaban, but I can put you back there in a blink of an eye if you put so much as a toe out of line again. Is that clear?"

Bellatrix glared at Hermione before muttering a quick yes and slinking off to the seat at the bottom of the table. Hermione waited until Bellatrix and everyone else was seated before turning to the standing Death Eaters. Finding Draco she beckoned for the blond to come forward.

"You can have this seat Draco." She told the Slytherin. "I'm sure before long you'll have proved yourself more than worthy of a place at the table."

"Thank you, My Lady." Draco said, sliding into the seat.

Walking back to the top of the table, Hermione sat down and began the meeting, ignoring the looks Bellatrix was throwing her way.

After a quick meeting Hermione dismissed the Death Eaters and made her way back to Lucius's study. Lucius and Draco accompanied her as she wished to talk to Draco about the first part of the assignment she had in mind for him.

"What did you think of your first meeting?" Hermione asked Draco as they entered the study.

"It wasn't what I was expecting." Draco admitted. "You're rather formidable."

"Is that a problem?" Hermione asked. She was very aware that Lucius was in the room, but she couldn't help but flirt with Draco.

"No, I like a strong woman." Draco replied, flirting right back.

Hermione smiled at Draco, before turning serious. "I have something I want you to do for me. This will be a big assignment and if you succeed you will play a big part in Dumbledore's defeat."

"Just tell me what you want me to do." Draco grinned, thrilled he was getting an important job so soon.

"First of all, you have to work out who I am." Hermione smirked wickedly. "Once you've done that, we can talk about your next task."

"How am I supposed to work out who you are?" Draco frowned. "You always wear glamour charms on your appearance and I don't even know your name."

"I thought you were clever, Draco." Hermione pouted, walking over to the blond and stopping directly in front of him. Leaning in she saw him take a deep smell of her perfume as her lips found his ear. "I was under the impression you were the second brightest student in your year."

"Your impression is wrong." Draco huffed. "I'm the brightest."

"Really?" Hermione pulled back from Draco and tilted her head as she looked at him. "I was under the impression a girl was top of your year."

"The Mudblood is top because she's the teacher's bloody pet." Draco spat. "It's amazing what being friends with saint bloody Potter will get you."

"Are you saying she's not clever?" Hermione asked, her eyes briefly flicking over to Lucius who was trying hard not to laugh at his son.

"Unfortunately she is." Draco admitted reluctantly. "But I still say the Professor's favour her because she's a Gryffindor and friends with Potter." He added stubbornly. "I'm every bit as smart as Granger."

"Then working out my identity shouldn't be a problem." Hermione said, smiling sweetly at Draco.

"How long do I have?" Draco questioned.

"As long as it takes, but the quicker you can work it out the better." Hermione responded. "In fact I'll give you an incentive if you work it out quickly."

"What sort of incentive?" Draco asked with a smirk, hoping he was reading The Dark Lady right and her incentive would be something sexual.

"You work out who I am and I will give you whatever you desire." Hermione answered, stepping forward again until she was directly in front of Draco.

"I can have anything?" Draco checked, his grey eyes boring into The Dark Lady's enchanted red ones.

"Anything." Hermione whispered, pressing a kiss against his cheek before stepping back. "You can leave now, Draco." She said in a normal voice. "I'll see you when you know who I am."

Draco looked slightly taken aback by the speed in which she'd backed off, but he nodded and left his father's study. The second Draco left Lucius let out a low chuckle at the sight he'd just witnessed. He found it rather amusing to hear Draco rant about Hermione and he couldn't wait until his son realised who The Dark Lady was.

"Do you think he'll be able to work out who you are?" Lucius asked. He knew of the assignment Hermione had for Draco and if he was to complete it he would need as much time as possible to do so.

"Yes." Hermione nodded. "He's bright enough, plus I'm going to give him a big clue early on in the term."

"What if it doesn't work?" Lucius asked. "What if he doesn't recognise the clue?"

"Then he's not really much use to me." Hermione snorted. "But that won't happen, he'll work it out. Granted he might be a bit shocked, but the evidence will be irrefutable."

"He's going to be so embarrassed when he realises he's just insulted you to your face." Lucius chuckled.

"That was nothing." Hermione laughed. "He's given me much worse over the years."

"Does it bother you that he's been so nasty towards you in the past?" Lucius questioned.

"No." Hermione shook her head. "Most of it was to do with being a muggleborn, which I'm not. And even the rest is based on being Harry's friend, and to be honest there's a grain of truth in what he said earlier. I am favoured over him because I'm a Gryffindor and friends with Harry. Apart from Snape all of the Professors look down on Slytherins and a lot of them dislike Draco for the simple fact he's a Malfoy."

"I'm sure the fact he can be a right spoilt little git, doesn't help him though." Lucius said.

"True." Hermione conceded. "He can be rather insufferable."

Lucius chuckled as Hermione walked over to the fire and said her goodbyes. She'd promised to tell her father all about the meeting and how she'd dealt with Bellatrix and she was eager to get back to him.


	4. Diagon Alley

A couple of days after Draco's initiation came the time Hermione had been dreading all holidays. The week she had to spend with Harry and Ron before returning to school. Hermione hadn't particularly wanted to spend the last week of her holidays with Harry and Ron, but it was something that had been happening since their friendship began and she didn't want to appear suspicious by not going.

As annoying as it was to be leaving the Death Eaters, she was trying to concentrate on the positives. A week with Harry and Ron would give her an inside track on the Order and what they were thinking. Yes they had Snape as a spy but he readily admitted that the majority of the Order didn't trust him and he wasn't privy to everything that went on. Hermione also wasn't likely to be privy to everything that was going on, but she would be trusted and no-one would think twice about what they said around her.

After getting everything sorted she had a last minute meeting with Lucius, just to check things were under control. With her return to school looming Lucius would be in control for the majority of the time and he reassured her their small but noticeable attacks would continue. He also reassured her that before school started the current Minister would be gone and a one more amenable to the dark side would be taking his place.

Once Lucius was sorted, Hermione just had to say goodbye to her parents before heading off to meet Harry and Ron. As usual they met at The Leaky Cauldron and as usual Hermione claimed her parents were working and unable to stick around to socialise.

"We're coming back to Diagon Alley in a few days." Harry told Hermione after the three friends had said their hellos. "We were here a few days ago, but we still need to get a few more bits and pieces."

"It's fine." Hermione nodded. "You know me, I can always buy a few new books or a new quill."

Ron rolled his eyes at Hermione as they headed for a table. They were going to have some lunch before Sirius and Lupin came to take them back home. The two wizards had been in the pub when Hermione arrived, but they left on Order business and told the teenagers to have something to eat while they were busy.

"Have I missed much over the summer?" Hermione asked, once they had placed their order and had their drinks.

"Well, I'm assuming you know about all the attacks." Harry said.

Hermione nodded sombrely. "Yeah, it's just awful."

"So much for the peace we were having just before school ended last year." Ron muttered.

"Lucius was just gathering up his forces." Harry said darkly. "He was probably waiting until we thought it was over."

"I guess so." Hermione said. "How was Diagon Alley when you were there? The pictures in the paper made it look really bad."

"It's getting better now." Ron said. "There's still a few ruined shops, but on a whole it's getting back to normal."

"You should have seen it when it happened." Harry said sadly. "It was awful. Poor Fred and George lost the front window in their shop just a few days before they were due to open."

"Shop? What shop?" Hermione frowned in confusion. Last time she'd seen the twins they had just finished school and she'd heard no mention of a shop.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you didn't know." Ron gasped. "Basically the twins have set up a joke shop. With all their inventions it's a bloody gold mine. Harry's their main investor."

"You invested?" Hermione asked Harry in surprise. She knew Harry had a bit of money his parents had left them, but it wasn't like him to go around spending it or investing it for that matter.

"Yeah. I used my winnings from The Triwizard Tournament." Harry answered, a grimace gracing his features as he mentioned winning the tournament.

He'd been less than impressed when Fudge had insisted that since he returned alive with the cup he was the winner. Despite Harry's protests that Cedric reached the cup at the same time, Fudge insisted on handing him the winner's money and officially announcing him as winner. Harry had tried giving the money to the Diggory's but Cedric's father was having none of it and insisted Harry use the money for something fun. Hermione supposed investing in the twins joke shop could be considered fun.

After talking about the twin's new venture for most of the meal, the trio had just returned to the subject of the Death Eater attacks when Sirius and Lupin arrived back. Almost immediately Lupin shut down the conversation and insisted it was time to leave. Without waiting for any arguments, Sirius and Lupin quickly grabbed hold of the three teenagers and apparated them back to Grimmauld Place.

"What was all that about?" Harry demanded the second they arrived in the front room.

"You shouldn't be discussing the attacks in public." Sirius told his godson. "It's not wise."

"And it most certainly isn't wise to go around claiming Lucius Malfoy is behind it all." Lupin added.

"But he is." Ron protested. "We all know he was the Death Eater at the Ministry that grabbed Hermione. He has to be behind the reforming of the Death Eaters."

"We know that, Ron. But you can't go around accusing him. Lucius is a powerful wizard with great influence, we have to tread very careful to prove any guilt on his part." Sirius sighed tiredly, leading Hermione to suspect this was an argument the Order had already had with Harry and Ron.

"Look at what happened to that reporter from the Prophet that implied he was involved with events at the Ministry." Lupin said. "Lucius got him sacked and now no other paper or magazine will hire him. The man lost his entire career just for an implication. I'd hate to think what Lucius would do to someone for outright accusing him."

"I know, we need to keep quiet." Ron huffed, collapsing into one of the chairs. "But it's hard when you know he's involved."

"We know." Lupin nodded in understanding. "But for the time being we have to keep our opinions to ourselves. The Order's watching out for him, that's the best we can do at the minute."

Hermione watched Harry nod in agreement as he collapsed into another chair. Deciding she needed a few minutes to herself, Hermione checked with Sirius she was staying in the same room and headed off upstairs. When she arrived in the room she stayed in last summer Hermione was unimpressed to find all of Ginny's things strewn about over one half of the room. It looked like she would have the redhead for company for the week she was staying at Grimmauld Place.

Hermione was right and less than an hour after she arrived at Grimmauld Place Ginny turned up with Molly. Almost immediately the redhead started prattling on about Harry and telling Hermione how she thought he was finally starting to notice her. Hermione tried her best to appear interested in Ginny's love life, all the while thinking about her own and wondering how things were going to progress with Draco.

**[][][][][]**

The trip to Diagon Alley didn't happen until the day before they were due to return to school. Hermione had already gotten her school things via mail order earlier in the holidays, but she still decided to accompany her friends on their trip. As they wandered through Diagon Alley, Hermione took in the destruction that was still evident on the street. Several shops looked to be empty and a few more of them still had boarded up windows or signs announcing they were temporarily closed, but on a whole things seemed to be carrying on relatively normal.

Molly had accompanied them to Diagon Alley but she'd wandered off to do a few chores, leaving Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny to keep themselves amused for a while. One of the first places the group visited was the twins joke shop. Hermione liked the twins, and she was impressed with the shop. Despite what had happened a few weeks earlier the shop was bustling with life and seemed to be doing a roaring trade.

"It's great, isn't it?" Ron enthused, coming up beside Hermione as she examined a display of various potions.

"It is pretty impressive." Hermione admitted. "I can't believe they've managed to set up so quickly."

"Harry and I helped." Ron beamed proudly. "We spent the first few weeks of the holidays helping them get set up."

Hermione nodded and let Ron tell her about the help he and Harry provided. After a few minutes Harry and Ginny joined them and they decided to go and grab the last few school books Harry and Ron needed. Leaving Fred and George's shop, the four teenagers headed towards Flourish and Blotts.

As soon as they entered the bookshop, Hermione spotted the familiar figure of Lucius standing at the till. Harry and Ron had also spotted the wizard and immediately they started complaining about him.

"Let's go and get your books." Hermione said to the grumbling duo. "Forget about Lucius."

Hermione and Ginny managed to manoeuvre Harry and Ron towards the section of books they needed to be looking at. When they reached the charms section they found yet another familiar figure browsing through the books.

"What are you doing here?" Ron spat at the blond.

Draco looked up from the book he was flicking through and sneered at the sight of the four Gryffindors. "Not that it's any of your business Weasel, but I'm buying books. What else would I be doing in a book shop?"

"I don't know, how about planning another attack on Diagon Alley." Harry snarled. "We know your father was behind the first one."

"If you had proof, you wouldn't be wasting your time throwing around accusations." Draco laughed. "Face it, you lot know nothing."

"We know plenty." Harry snapped.

"No, you don't." Draco shook his head. "There's plenty you don't know."

"And you do?" Hermione questioned with a dismissive snort.

"I certainly know more than a filthy mudblood like you." Draco snarled at Hermione.

"Don't call her that." Ron hissed, pulling out his wand and pointing it at the blond. Harry and Ginny followed suit and soon the blond had three wands pointed at him.

"Why not? That's what she is." Draco sneered. "A filthy little mudblood."

"Enough." Lucius's voice called from behind Draco.

Draco whirled round to find his father standing behind him. Harry, Ron and Ginny also looked surprised to see the older wizard and when he glared at them they quickly lowered their wands. Hermione however had seen Lucius approach a good few minutes earlier and she'd watched him as he listened with clear amusement to Draco insulting her.

"Come on Draco, we're leaving." Lucius said to his son. "We don't have time to stay and converse with the lowlifes of the world."

"If anyone's a lowlife, it you and your bloody son." Harry spat.

As quick as could be Lucius whirled on Harry and had the end of his cane, pressed under his chin on his throat.

"I'd watch that tongue of yours, Potter." He hissed. "One day you're going to get what's coming to you."

"As will you." Harry responded. "One day, you'll be in Azkaban where you belong."

"I doubt it." Lucius smirked. "But I don't doubt that your days on this planet are numbered."

With a final smirk at Harry, Lucius dropped his can and turned back to Draco. The two Malfoy men then turned and left Flourish and Blotts, leaving the stunned Gryffindors behind.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Ginny asked in concern.

"I'm fine." Harry reassured her.

"Did he just threaten your life?" Ron asked in bewilderment, still trying to take in what had just happened.

"I think so." Harry replied quietly.

"We need to tell the Order." Ginny insisted. "He can't get away with this."

"No." Harry said with a shake of his head. "No-one needs to know. I don't want them worrying unnecessarily and trying to protect me. You never know what they might try and do."

"Harry's right." Ron said to his sister, who looked less than happy that Harry didn't want to tell anyone about Lucius. "If they knew Harry had been threatened they might decide to keep him away from school."

"Exactly." Harry said. "Let's just finish our shopping and go home."

Ginny reluctantly agreed not to mention anything and the group quickly grabbed the books Harry and Ron needed. They then grabbed the other few bits they needed before finding Molly and heading back to Grimmauld Place. As Harry had wanted they never mentioned Lucius and their run-in with him and Draco and their last night of the holidays passed without incident and more importantly for Harry, it passed without people worrying about his safety.


	5. Hermione's Clue

The return to school passed without incident. The train ride was long and in Hermione's opinion duller than normal. Ginny had joined the trio for the ride and she, Harry and Ron spent the majority of the time talking about Quidditch. To be honest Hermione was surprised that Quidditch was their main focus considering the Death Eaters were back and barely a week passed without a small incident somewhere.

The welcoming feast was only slightly more interesting. Dumbledore made a long, boring speech on the dangers plaguing the wizarding world, which considering everything she'd learnt from Snape, Hermione found rather hypocritical. As she listened to the headmaster she couldn't help but wonder how Harry would feel about the old wizard if he knew that Dumbledore had willingly sacrificed his parents' lives to try and defeat her father.

The only other bit of interesting news was the appointment of the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. After Umbridge's departure the previous year Dumbledore had briefly taken over and Hermione knew that Harry was hoping he would still be teaching the subject this coming year. Unfortunately for Harry he wasn't and the new Professor was introduced as Kingsley Shackelbolt. Kingsley was a member of the Order and an Auror and Hermione was guessing his position at the school was partly to protect Hogwarts.

The news seemed to take Harry and Ron by surprise, but Hermione had been expecting the news. A couple of days ago she'd received an owl from Lucius, telling her the Minister had been sacked and the new man in charge was a good friend of his. In his letter he'd also told her of Kingsley's appointment and asked if she wanted him to do anything about it. Hermione had debated what to do for a while, before deciding just to leave things as they were. One more member of the Order in school wouldn't make a big difference to her plans for the upcoming year.

After a good night's sleep Hermione started making plans for the year. First things first she needed to let Draco in on who she really was. Hermione knew that she could have just told him in the summer or managed to get him alone, but she wanted to know how long it would take him to truly believe she was The Dark Lady. Her plan should leave him in no doubt as to who she was, but she knew it was hard to believe that the Gryffindor golden girl was really a dark witch in control of the Death Eaters.

Hermione studied her new timetable, trying to find a day when she could implement her plan. Friday looked to be promising, if she was correct she would share three classes with Draco. Potions was the first lesson of the day, and while Snape only accepted the best students into his N.E.W.T classes she knew Draco's marks would have been right up there with hers. Charms was before lunch and Transfiguration the last class of the day and both of those classes were down as a shared lesson between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Hermione didn't think Draco would have dropped either Transfiguration or Charms, so that meant he should be in both of those classes as well. With three shared classes, Hermione decided that Friday was the day Draco found out who The Dark Lady truly was.

With her decision made to reveal herself on Friday, the week seemed to drag for Hermione. Eventually Friday arrived and Hermione practically shovelled her breakfast down. Neither Harry nor Ron had received good enough marks to continue on in potions, so after breakfast she headed down to the dungeons alone.

Before reaching the potions classroom Hermione ducked into an alcove and fished around in her bag for a small vial of perfume. The vial contained the perfume her father had specially made for her, the one she only wore at home when she was being her true self. Hermione knew that Draco liked the perfume and she was confident he would recognise it immediately, it was very distinctive and he knew only The Dark Lady wore this particular scent.

After putting on the perfume Hermione tucked the vial back into her bag and headed into potions. Draco was already in class, sitting in between his friends, Blaise and Theo. The Slytherin trio were sitting right at the front of the class on the left hand side of the room. Not wanting to sit too close to Draco, Hermione headed to the other side of the room and took a seat in the row slightly back from where Draco and his friends were sitting.

Shortly after Hermione was seated Snape entered the class and began the lesson. After making it clear he expected top class work from everyone in his lessons, he flicked his wand at the blackboard and the instructions for the potion he wanted them to make appeared. Hermione made notes of the ingredients, but waited until Draco was in the supply cupboard before getting out of her seat.

Hermione's timing was perfect and just as she was entering the cupboard, Draco was leaving. The cupboard door wasn't very wide and for the pair to pass they practically had to brush up against each other. As they passed Hermione felt Draco stiffen beside her and out of the corner of her eye she saw his nose twitching. Smirking she gathered her ingredients and left the cupboard, only to find Draco was still standing beside the door with a frown on his face. Passing by closer than she needed to Hermione once again saw Draco react as he got a whiff of her perfume. Making sure to ignore the blond, Hermione went back to her desk but she could fell Draco's piercing grey eyes on her every move.

"Mr Malfoy, are you going to stand there all day." Snape called across the classroom when Draco remained rooted to the spot.

Hermione had to work hard to keep from laughing as a clearly confused Draco tried to snap himself out of his thoughts. After mumbling an apology to Snape, Draco headed back to his desk where he tried to carry on the lesson. All class Hermione was aware that Draco kept sneaking looks her way, but she pretended to be oblivious to his staring.

When class was over Hermione once again walked past Draco as she headed for the door. Pleased that she definitely had Draco's attention Hermione headed off to Herbology, where she met up with Harry and Ron. After Herbology it was break time and towards the end of break Hermione headed to the bathroom, where she applied a bit more perfume before it was time for Charms.

As they entered Charms, Hermione manoeuvred herself so that she entered the classroom directly behind Draco. Like in Potions he visibly stiffened and smelt the air around him. When Hermione sauntered past him and headed to her seat next to Harry, she spotted the frown on the blond's face.

"You smell different." Harry commented, drawing Hermione's attention away from Draco.

"You know what I smell like?" Hermione asked in amusement.

Harry blushed as he realised what he'd said could have been misconstrued. "You're my friend, we spend time together so yeah, I've noticed what you smell like. Normally you smell like flowers, this smell is different, sort of fruity."

"I'm wearing a different perfume." Hermione said. "Don't you like it?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded. "It's just stronger that what you normally wear."

"I don't really wear it much as it's pretty expensive. My father had the fragrance made especially for me."

"That's nice." Harry replied. While Hermione didn't talk about her parents much, whenever she mentioned her father it was clear she thought the world of him.

Their conversation was interrupted by Flitwick starting the lesson and the topic of Hermione's perfume didn't come up again. At the end of class, Hermione yet again managed to walk past Draco as she exited the classroom. From Charms Hermione headed to lunch with Harry and Ron, after making a brief pit stop for the boys to use the bathroom.

Just as the trio approached The Great Hall, Draco and his group of Slytherins were coming from the opposite direction. Draco stopped in his tracks and stared at Hermione and for a minute she thought he was going to say something in front of everyone. Luckily he didn't, he just shook his head and turned to enter The Great Hall.

"What was that about?" Ron asked as the trio entered The Great Hall behind the Slytherins and headed to their table.

"What?" Hermione knew full well what Ron was referring to, but she was pretending not to have noticed the way Draco had been studying her.

"Malfoy." Ron answered as they sat down. "Did you see the way he was looking at us? I swear, he's planning something."

Harry agreed with his friend and Hermione almost burst out laughing as they tried to work out what fiendish plan he was hatching. Honestly, Harry and Ron were so thick, even when Draco was blatantly staring at her they had to make it all about them and their rivalry. For the rest of lunch, Harry and Ron continued to talk about Draco, leaving Hermione to wonder how long it would be before Draco approached her.

After lunch Hermione attended a couple of lessons that didn't include Draco, before it was time for the final class of the day. Like she had earlier Hermione put on a bit more perfume before making her way to Transfiguration. This time before she had a chance to locate Draco as the class was entering the room he pushed past her, getting far closer than was necessary. Once again Hermione saw him sniff the air around her and like in potions he kept sneaking looks in her direction.

After Transfiguration, Hermione watched as Draco practically bolted from the room. When he wasn't present at dinner she began to worry that he refused to believe what his nose was telling him. She knew he'd smelt her perfume and she knew from the way he was reacting that he'd recognised it. All she could do now was hope that he would eventually come and seek her out and confront her.

In the hope that Draco would seek her out, Hermione changed her clothes before heading down to the library to do some studying. Instead of her normal baggy jumper and jeans, she wore a fitted blouse and a skirt, although she did put her school robes on over the top so no-one else saw her changed appearance and got suspicious.

Hermione had been in library for about an hour and was giving up hope of seeing Draco when the blond in question casually sauntered into the library and settled at the table opposite her. Hermione could feel his eyes on her as she carried on studying and pretended not to notice him watching. When he still didn't approach her, Hermione began to get annoyed. How many more hints did he want, before he came and spoke to her?

After half an hour Hermione decided to try one more thing. Standing up she undid her school robes and threw them over the chair beside her. She then raised her arms over her head in a stretch, making sure her top rode up slightly. Satisfied Draco was now truly mesmerised by her, Hermione turned and walked towards the dark shelves near the back of the library, where hardly anyone ever ventured. The whole time she could feel Draco watching her, she just hoped he would follow after her.

A few minutes later a smirk formed of Hermione's lips as she heard footsteps heading in her direction. Pretending to scour the shelves, Hermione was very aware when Draco entered the dark corner. The way the book shelves were aligned she was now trapped, with Draco standing between her and the way out.

Straightening up, she turned to face Draco. "Can I help you?"

* * *

**A/N - I just want to take a second to answer a few questions from a couple of reviews. I was asked why I only publish a few times a week when I've finished the story. I usually only publish a few times a week so I have time to stockpile stories to publish since I only publish once I've written the entire story these days. Also with the story I'll want to start publishing the third part directly afterwards, and I'm still in the middle of writing it. I promise once I've finished writing the third part updates will be almost daily.**

**I was also asked if the goal of the Death Eaters is still the same - purifying the wizarding world. It is, Hermione is just going to go about things very differently from her father. You'll see both her dark side and her manipulative side as she sets about taking control of the wizarding world and getting it like she wants.**


	6. Realisation

Hermione's question hung in the air as Draco just stared at the witch in front of him. He knew he was looking at The Dark Lady, but there was still a small part of him that was wary and worried that he was being tricked by the Order. How the Order would even know about The Dark Lady or her perfume was a mystery to Draco, but still that tiny seed of doubt was there. After all it was rather hard to believe that the muggleborn best friend of Harry Potter was the daughter of Voldemort and had taken over his Death Eaters a few months earlier. Draco was still struggling to believe it and he'd been grappling with the idea since Potions.

When Draco first smelt The Dark Lady's perfume, he thought he'd been imagining things. Since Easter she'd been constantly on his mind and he hadn't even looked in the direction of another witch. He'd been disappointed over the summer when he hadn't seen much of her, but with Voldemort's demise it had been perfectly understandable that she had more important things to worry about then her love life.

Even though he'd initially thought he'd been imagining things, Draco was very aware of the task she'd set him to work out who she was. He'd been puzzled ever since she told him to come and see her once he found out who she was, but if she was at school with him her order made much more sense. What didn't make sense was the fact it was Granger who was walking around smelling like the witch he'd kissed and was rapidly falling for.

Throughout the day as he continued to get a blast of her perfume whenever she was near, Draco took to watching the witch in question. To be honest he'd never really looked at Granger before. She was a mudblood and best friends with Potter, therefore she wasn't worth Draco's time. But now when he truly looked at her, he realised that she was actually quite attractive.

By the time he arrived in the library, he settled down with the intention of comparing Granger to the witch he desired. Obviously her eyes couldn't give him a clue, as The Dark Lady always enchanted hers. While The Dark Lady always charmed her hair as well, Draco had noticed the length never changed. The length of her hair seemed to correspond with the length of Granger's hair, and Draco suspected that if Granger ever did more than just tie her hair up she could get the same sort of curls The Dark Lady sometimes had.

Despite briefly looking at the parts of Granger that The Dark Lady charmed, he concentrated on the things she didn't change. Granger didn't wear make-up so it was quite hard to picture her in the dramatic style The Dark Lady preferred. Her lips, however, were a different story and the second Draco's eyes dropped to them he knew in his heart that Granger was The Dark Lady. Even without her normal painted lips, they were every bit as enticing as Draco remembered.

When Granger then removed her robe and gave him a look at her body, Draco couldn't help but stare. Again, he'd never really paid that much attention to her before be he knew enough to know her clothes were always baggy and unflattering. He'd always assumed it was because she was unattractive and didn't have a good figure, now he realised the clothes were to hide how stunning she really was.

When Granger wandered into the dark recesses of the library, Draco got up and followed. His instinct was to do as she asked and inform her that he knew who she was, but when she spoke something held him back. Despite everything he'd seen and what he knew inside there was still a tiny voice of doubt in his head. He also knew that if that voice in his head was correct and he was wrong about Granger, he was a dead man. The Dark Lady would never forgive him revealing her existence to a member of the Order.

"Are you going to speak, or just stand there looking dumb?" Hermione snapped after an extremely long silence.

The bite to her voice had Draco smiling, this was definitely The Dark Lady. "Sorry, My Lady. You rather have me lost for words."

"I'm guessing that would be a first." Hermione chuckled.

A short silence developed between the pair as they scrutinized each other. Hermione was wondering if Draco was regretting their previous kisses, while Draco was wondering how he didn't spot who Hermione was earlier. Now he knew her true identity, he couldn't help but be amazed that he'd never noticed she was the witch he fantasised about.

"Are we going to stand here all day, or are we actually going to talk?" Hermione asked.

"First, I believe you owe me whatever I desire for working out who you are." Draco smirked.

"And what do you desire?"

Draco stepped forward, until he was standing right in front of Hermione. "You."

"Are you sure you want a filthy mudblood like me?" Hermione asked.

Draco's eyes widened in panic and he took a hesitant step back. Hermione wasn't sure if he thought he'd made a mistake with her identity or was suddenly remembering all the times he'd insulted her and was worrying about her reaction. For Draco it was the latter that had him worried. At Hermione's words he was suddenly hit with the fact he'd spent five years insulting her, including a recent time in Diagon Alley and the rant he'd had about her in his father's study after receiving his mark.

"I'm not sure what to say." He said quietly. "I would say sorry, but I thought you were a mudblood."

"I'm not angry, Draco." Hermione told the blond. "In fact I would be angrier if you'd been nice to me. As far as you knew I was a mudblood, you treated me exactly as I would expect."

"That's a relief." Draco smiled. "I would hate to make you mad."

"I'm sure you can avoid that." Hermione chuckled. "Now we really should arrange to meet up so we can talk about the rest of your task."

"Not so fast." Draco tutted. "I still haven't received what you promised me."

"You were serious." Hermione looked at Draco in surprise. "You really want me?"

"I thought we established that over New Year and Easter." Draco responded, stepping forward and pinning Hermione in between the bookshelf and his body.

"But that was before you knew who I was." Hermione pointed out. "Before you knew, I wasn't some sort of attractive dark witch."

"That's where you're mistaken." Draco said quietly, running the back of his hand down Hermione's cheek. "You are an attractive dark witch. This dowdy little muggleborn is the act, not The Dark Lady."

Hermione smiled at Draco's words, pleased her identity hadn't scared him off. "So what exactly do you want from me?" She asked.

"Everything." Draco answered. "I want to kiss you and hold you. I want you naked in my arms as I make love to you. I just want you."

Hermione whimpered quietly at Draco's words and it took every ounce of her self-control not to crash her lips against his and beg him to take her there and then. However they were in the library and Hermione was very aware that they couldn't risk getting caught.

"I'm afraid all that will have to wait." She whispered, once she'd regained her senses. "We can't risk doing anything here."

"We're in the dark, where no-one can see." Draco shrugged. "Where's the harm?"

"No." Hermione shook her head stubbornly, refusing to be swayed on the matter. "I will not risk getting caught. You need to meet me somewhere private."

"Where?"

Hermione though for a moment before the perfect solution came to her. "The Room of Requirement, where you caught the D.A last year."

"How do I get in the room?" Draco asked with a frown. "I tried last year and couldn't get in."

"You have to walk past the wall three times thinking of what you want the room for." Hermione explained. "In this case, you walk past thinking of wanting to meet me."

"Okay, when do you want to meet?" Draco asked.

"Tomorrow night after dinner." Hermione answered. "We can talk properly and set some ground rules."

"And will I get my reward?" Draco asked. He was slightly put out he hadn't received what he wanted in the library, but he understood Hermione's reasons for waiting.

"If you're good." Hermione chuckled. "But since you completed the first part of your task, I'll give you a little something to keep you going."

As his reward, Hermione leant forward and pressed her lips against Draco's. What had been intended as a short and sweet kiss, changed the second Hermione was touching Draco. Just kissing him produced all sorts of urges in her body and before she knew it she was wrapped around him in a passionate embrace.

Not one to miss out on an opportunity, Draco made the most of Hermione's loss of control. Slipping his tongue into her mouth he pulled her against him as his hands roamed across her body. All too soon Hermione regained her control and pulled away from Draco breathing hard.

"Maybe we need to make some ground rules now." She said. "That was dangerous."

"But it was bloody hot." Draco smirked.

"Yeah, it was." Hermione smiled fondly at Draco, before shaking her head and getting back on track. "I mean it Draco, we can't do this again."

"I know." Draco admitted. "It's a risk we can't take."

"Exactly, we can't be seen together." Hermione said. "Nothing can change between us in public. You'll still have to insult me and call me names, you know."

"That's fine, just as long as you don't hold it against me later on." Draco replied.

"I won't." Hermione promised. "There will also be no passing notes or anything like that. We will not be doing anything that raises anyone's suspicions."

"How are we going to arrange meetings?" Draco questioned. "Especially if you have a task for me."

"We will always be meeting in the Room of Requirement. When I want to meet, I will call you using your mark. All you have to do is get away."

"What if I can't?"

"Then you can't." Hermione shrugged. "I understand that you're not always going to be able to get away. As long as you try and you manage it most of the time, I'll be happy."

"I will always try my best to get to you." Draco said, caressing Hermione's cheek with his thumb.

"I really need to go." Hermione said, almost getting sucked into staying hidden longer and increasing their chances of getting caught. "You're very distracting."

"I try." Draco grinned.

"Well do not try in public." Hermione scolded. "In private you can distract me as much as you want, but in public its best you stay away."

"Whatever you want, My Lady." Draco said, giving Hermione a quick peck on the cheek before stepping away from her.

"I'll see you tomorrow evening, and remember this never happened." Hermione said. "Hermione Granger is still a muggleborn, and you hate her."

Draco nodded as Hermione turned and left him alone in the darkness of the bookshelves. He waited a good five minutes before emerging back into the brightness of the main library. When he made it back to the table he'd been sitting at he found the table next to his empty and no sign of Hermione.

Grabbing his own belongings, Draco swept out of the library and headed down to the dungeons. He had an awful lot to think about. The identity of The Dark Lady had been a major shock, and to be honest he was just now thinking of dozens of questions he should have asked. He'd rather been distracted with the attraction that simmered between them and he'd forgotten to ask all sorts of things. Luckily they were meeting the next evening and hopefully he would get a few more answers, not to mention a bit more action from the beautiful witch.


	7. Draco's Task

Hermione nervously paced the floor in the Room of Requirements. Draco was due to arrive any minute and Hermione had been getting more nervous as the day passed. He'd taken the news of her identity exceptionally well the previous day but Hermione was worried that with time to digest the news that he wouldn't be as relaxed about who she was. They did after all have five years of tension and sniping to get past.

In an attempt to feel more comfortable with the conversation they were about to have Hermione had skipped dinner and arrived in the room early so she could take the time to get ready. She'd spent some time taming her hair, before letting it cascade down her back. She'd also wore clothes that hugged her figure and applied a bit of make-up. Looking in the mirror Hermione was happy that she looked slightly more like The Dark Lady Draco was used to, which would hopefully put him more at ease.

When Hermione spotted the door appearing on the wall she stopped pacing and stood in front of the fire. When she'd entered the room she found it was a cosy looking room, with a large dark green sofa sitting in front of a roaring fire. There was also a four poster bed in the corner, but Hermione wasn't concentrating on that right now. She and Draco had plenty to talk about before falling into bed.

When Draco entered the room Hermione smiled as his eyes swept appreciatively over her body. She was wearing a short skirt, much shorter than she would normally wear at school, and a dark blue top that hung off one shoulder, revealing the strap of her black bra.

"I told you the dowdy muggleborn look, wasn't the real you." Draco smirked. "You look much more like your normal self, My Lady."

"You don't have to call me that in private." Hermione chuckled.

"Then what should I call you?" Draco asked, advancing on Hermione.

"Well you know my real name now, how about you call me that."

"Is it really your name?" Draco questioned. "I wasn't sure if your name was fake so you could pose as a muggleborn."

"My name really is Hermione." Hermione said. "The Granger part of my name, however, is false."

"Why are you posing as a muggleborn?" Draco asked. "Why didn't you reveal who you really are once your father returned?"

"How about we sit down and I'll tell you my story." Hermione suggested, gesturing to the sofa.

Draco nodded and settled down on one side of the sofa. Hermione went to sit down on the other side, but Draco grabbed her hand and pulled her down next to him. Hermione was rather surprised by how bold he was being, but she was more than happy to settle beside him.

"How much do you want to know?" Hermione asked, not sure where to start.

"Everything." Draco replied. "But we've got plenty of time to get to know each other better, so how about you tell me how you're posing as a muggleborn."

"It was my mother's idea." Hermione explained. "As I got older my parents started to worry about what would happen when it was time for me to attend school. They knew I couldn't come to Hogwarts as Hermione Riddle without being vilified and hated, and my father wasn't well enough for us to move so I could go to Durmstrang or one of the other wizarding schools that doesn't accept mudbloods."

"Hold on." Draco stopped Hermione, needing to clarify something. "Your father was around when you grew up? I thought he'd just returned at the end of fourth year."

"The whole story's really long, and I'll tell you someday but for now I'll give you the quick version. Basically the night he went to kill Harry my mother was waiting for him nearby. When things went wrong and he lost his powers, he managed to get back to her. My mum brought him home, but he had no magic and was really weak. So he was always there as I grew up, he just wasn't very healthy."

"At least you had him there, though." Draco said. "You've got more memories of him then the brief time he was back at full strength. That has to be a good thing."

Hermione nodded, feeling bad that Draco didn't know that she still had her father. However, if things ever got really serious between them she would make sure he knew the truth about her father.

"Sorry for going off track." Draco apologised, worrying that he had upset Hermione by bringing to Voldemort. "You were telling me about your parents worrying when you were due to start school."

"So I was." Hermione smiled. "Anyway unless I wasn't going to come to Hogwarts, my parents knew I needed a new identity. My mother found a childless muggle couple and cast all sorts of spells on them so they thought I was their daughter. We use them whenever my parents have to make an appearance in the wizarding world."

"How did they get you listed as a muggleborn on the school records?" Draco questioned.

"My mother sent one of our house elves to Hogwarts. Father somehow knew where all the records were kept and told the elf what to do. Basically the elf found the records and changed Hermione Riddle for Hermione Granger and planted all the information about my supposed muggle family."

"So did you have to learn about being a muggle?" Draco asked with a disgusted look. "I can't imagine that was fun."

"It wasn't." Hermione grimaced at the memories of having to learn about muggles when all her life she'd been taught they were worthless. "But it needed to be done, so I did it and so far no-one's ever noticed I'm not really a muggleborn."

"I get why you couldn't be yourself when you started school, but why not reveal who you were after your father returned?" Draco asked, genuinely interested in why the charade was kept up.

"The same reason I'm still hiding, my father wanted me to finish my education." Hermione explained. "Imagine what would happen if people knew who I really was. Father was actually worried about what Dumbledore and the Order would do to me. They wouldn't be happy to know I've been around all this time and they never knew who I was."

"No, I don't suppose they would." Draco agreed. He could quite understand Voldemort's concern over his daughter's safety. He didn't trust Dumbledore and the Order and he hated to think what they were capable of if they ever discovered who Hermione was. "Are you worried in case they find out about you?" He asked.

"They won't." Hermione stated confidently. "My parents, your parents and now you are the only people who know my true identity. I trust you all and know none of you would ever betray me and reveal who I am."

"How long are you planning on hiding?" Draco asked. "Surely you don't want to live your entire life posing as a muggleborn."

"The second I've finished school, I'm leaving Hermione Granger behind." Hermione answered. "I haven't sorted out all the details yet, but I just have to get through two more years of school then I'm free to be myself."

"That's good, I like the real you." Draco smiled.

"Luckily for you, you get the real me in private." Hermione teased. "Well as long as you're still interested in continuing things between us and are happy to agree to ground rules." She added seriously.

"How on earth are you still so unsure of yourself?" Draco asked, reaching up and brushing Hermione's hair out of her eyes. "I've seen you in action and you're amazing, so how can you be so insecure?"

Hermione shrugged, unsure of how to answer. She was confident as leader of the Death Eaters because she had a stream of constant support from her parents and Lucius, but on a personal level she didn't have any confidence. Apart from a very brief liaison with Viktor Krum in fourth year no boy had ever shown an interest in her, so she was unsure how to react to Draco's very obvious attraction to her.

"Don't doubt yourself." Draco told her. "I'm very interested in you, but we can take things as slow as you like."

"What about the reward you wanted?" Hermione asked. "I thought you wanted me."

"I do, but I'm willing to wait." Draco responded. "I'm not going to push you into anything."

"I'd like to see you try." Hermione laughed, feeling more confident after Draco's reassurance they could move slowly. "You may by the one with all the experience, but I'm still The Dark Lady and I'm the one in control."

"I'm more than happy to be under your control." Draco smirked. The fact that the witch he was getting involved with was so powerful was even more of a turn on for him.

"Speaking of control, we need to set some ground rules." Hermione said seriously.

"More?" Draco questioned. "I thought we'd already established we'd have no contact outside of this room. Once we leave here, we go back to how we always are with each other."

"That goes without saying, but I have another condition." Hermione said. "If we're together, you don't mess around with anyone else. If you want to carry on the way you were last year that's fine, but you don't get anywhere near me."

"That won't be a problem." Draco reassured Hermione. "I haven't been with anyone else since just before Easter. After our conversation during the Easter holidays, you're the only witch I've thought about. You're the only one I want."

"Good, because I don't share." Hermione grinned wickedly as she leant closer to Draco. "Be warned Draco, once we do this I'll not be happy if you betray me."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Draco whispered.

Hermione smiled briefly, before closing the gap between their lips. Draco wrapped his arms firmly around Hermione and pulled her towards him. Pressed right up against Draco, Hermione moaned softly as his hands ghosted over her back and sides while they continued to kiss.

"I could do that all day." Draco muttered as they reluctantly parted.

"I'm sure we can arrange that one day." Hermione grinned. "But unfortunately, not today. We're going to have to be careful about meeting up. We don't want people getting suspicious about our absences."

"I guess not." Draco sighed. It was looking like their encounters in school would be all too brief for his liking.

"I suppose we should also talk about the rest of your task." Hermione said.

"I'm all ears." Draco grinned excitedly, thrilled to be getting something to do to prove himself to The Dark Lady. "What do you want me to do?"

"Help me to kill Dumbledore."

"You're going to kill Dumbledore?" Draco gasped.

"Yes." Hermione nodded. "He's the Order's leader, without him they'll be easier to dispose of. At the minute the Order are stronger than I would like and with Dumbledore they can seriously hinder me as I try to achieve the power my father always dreamt of having."

"How can I help?" Draco asked.

"I can't risk killing him myself, just in case something goes wrong." Hermione answered. "What I want to do is get a few Death Eaters into the castle and let one of them kill him. Unfortunately I can't find a way to get them into the castle undetected. There was a tunnel running from Honeydukes right into the school, but Harry and Ron got caught using it and it's now blocked."

Hermione of course had her locket to get in and out of Hogwarts, but using that meant ferrying the Death Eaters individually and she wanted them to arrive and leave en-masse. Once Dumbledore was dead she didn't know how long she would have before the news spread and she couldn't afford to be busy with her Death Eaters. What she needed was a different way of them gaining access to the school, one that didn't require her risking getting caught. Plus this was the perfect way for Draco to prove his worth as a Death Eater.

"And you want me to help you come up with a plan." Draco said, making sure he had his job correct.

"Yes." Hermione answered. "If you can find a way, I'll be thrilled. I'm sure I can reward you somehow."

"You know, I think I'm going to like your rewards." Draco grinned.

Hermione laughed before leaning forward and once again pressing her lips against Draco's. They would have to be going soon, but they might as well make the most of the brief time they did have.


	8. Vanishing Cabinets

Wandering the streets of Hogsmeade, Draco was deep in thought. It had been four weeks since The Dark Lady asked for his assistance in getting the Death Eaters into Hogwarts, but he still had no clue as to how he was going to help her achieve her aim. Hermione herself was also at a standstill with ideas and the weekly meetings they were having were proving fruitless regarding their mission.

However, on a personal level the meetings were going great. The pair were constantly talking and getting to know each other better, not to mention the heated kisses they shared. Draco was still being careful not to move too fast for Hermione as she was sometimes still pretty nervous about the physical side of their relationship.

Draco was often still amazed at the difference in Hermione. When they were discussing their plans to let the Death Eaters into the school and other matters pertaining to the dark, she was the formidable, confident Dark Lady. However when it came to their relationship she was very much like a normal teenage girl with her first boyfriend. At times she flirted and teased him with ease, but once they started to kiss and his hands started to wander he could often feel her nervousness. During their last meeting she had gotten all flustered when he referred to her as his girlfriend, which Draco had found quite funny and also quite endearing. It was nice to know The Dark Lady had a heart and that he was able to affect her so much.

While the personal side of things was pleasing the lack of progress on his task was beginning to frustrate Draco. He'd agreed to come to Hogsmeade with his friends in the hope the fresh air might help him think, but it hadn't worked. Still annoyed by his lack of progress Draco had left his friends to enjoy their day while he headed back to school, maybe he could get some thinking done in a relatively quiet common room.

When he arrived back in the common room, Draco found he was no better off. The place was relatively quiet, with only a few first and second years knocking about the place, but Draco still wasn't coming up with anything. Deciding if he wasn't constantly thinking about it, he would find a solution, Draco put thoughts of Death Eaters out of his head and instead replaced them with thoughts of Hermione.

Half an hour later Draco was quite happily sitting in the armchair nearest the fireplace, thinking about Hermione and what it would be like when he finally got her into bed. His peace however was soon shattered by two chattering first years. The first years hadn't noticed Draco as they sat down on the large leather sofa and continued to talk about their first few weeks at school.

Draco tuned the pair of them out, until he heard one of them mention a story his older brother had told him. The story was about a Slytherin boy who'd been trapped in a cabinet for a few days over the Christmas Break. Apparently this first year's brother had been friends with the trapped boy and had told his younger sibling the story. As they talked Draco listened carefully as he remembered the incident himself.

Draco had been a first year when this had happened and after returning to Hogwarts after the holidays it had been all the Slytherins talked about. The boy who'd gotten stuck was a sixth year and would tell anyone who'd listen how he'd been trapped in the cabinet between two places. He'd reckoned that sometimes he'd been able to hear what was happening in the common room and other times he could hear what was happening in somewhere he was guessing was a shop.

With an idea suddenly forming in his head, Draco sprang from his seat and rushed off to the library. Gathering a few books, Draco settled on a table at the back of the library and began his research. He spent a good hour exploring various books, before finding what he wanted.

"Vanishing cabinets." Draco muttered to himself as he began to read.

Vanishing cabinets came in a pair and allowed people or objects to travel between them. The idea was basically a magical doorway between the two cabinets, enabling travel over long distances. Vanishing cabinets were extremely rare and according to all the research Draco could find it was even harder to find a pair. Since the point of the cabinets were travel based, pairs were rarely kept close to each other.

Closing the books, Draco set about returning them to their rightful places before leaving the library. As he headed back to the dungeons, he tried to think about what had happened to the cabinet from the common room. To be honest he couldn't remember it in the first place and if someone hadn't mentioned that it'd been moved, he never would have even noticed it was gone. By the time he reached the common room Draco still couldn't remember if it had ever been said where the cabinet had gone or who had moved it.

"There you are, Draco." Theo called as he entered the common room. "Where have you been? We came back expecting to find you here, but you were nowhere in sight."

"I went for a bit of peace and quiet. There was a couple of first years gossiping nearby and they were giving me a headache." Draco replied as he threw himself into his usual chair.

"You know what girls are like, always chattering on." Blaise snorted. "Even first years. I mean can you remember how annoying Pansy and Daphne were."

"What do you mean were, they're still bloody annoying now." Theo retorted. "All they ever do is gossip."

"Actually they weren't girls." Draco told his friends. "It was a couple of boys comparing their first few weeks at school. One of them even told a story he'd heard from his brother about the time that lad was locked in a cabinet over Christmas."

"That was funny." Theo laughed. "I know you two were at home, but you missed a right laugh. Snape and Dumbledore were in here practically every day trying to get him out. It took two days to unlock the damn thing and then when they did they couldn't find him. We'd be sitting in the common room and you'd hear his voice, but every time we opened the cabinet it was empty."

"How did he get out?" Blaise asked. "I can't remember that far back."

"I'm not sure." Theo shrugged. "Dumbledore and Snape just cleared the common room out one afternoon and when we were allowed to return, the stuck lad was back and the cabinet was gone."

"Where did the cabinet go?" Draco asked.

"I don't know. I'm assuming Dumbledore or Snape got rid of it." Theo replied.

Having got the information he needed, Draco tuned out his friends as they continued to reminisce about events from their past. A quick glance at the time showed it was nearly dinner time, meaning he would have to visit Snape either after dinner or the following day.

**[][][][][]**

The following morning Draco headed off to see Snape directly after breakfast. He'd decided against talking to him the previous evening. If Snape could help he might need to do some investigating and that was easier to do with a whole Sunday laid before him. Draco found the Potions Professor in his classroom, preparing potions and assignments for the upcoming week.

"How can I help you, Draco?" Snape asked. "If you're looking for an advantage in class, I'm afraid I can't help. These are potions for my seventh years."

"I don't need any special help, I'm quite capable in Potions." Draco retorted, quite offended that Snape had even suggested he needed an advantage.

"I know, I was just teasing." Snape replied. "So why are you here?"

"I want to talk to you about a cabinet that used to be in the Slytherin common room." Draco said, hopping up on one of the desks. "A boy got stuck in it during my first year."

"Ah yes, I remember that. Quite a tricky little thing, I'm still not sure how Dumbledore managed to get him out." Snape stopped what he was doing and turned to Draco. "Why are you asking about it?"

"I need to know what you did with the cabinet." Draco answered.

"We placed it in this large storage cupboard up on one of the top floors, I can't remember where exactly." Snape answered. "Why do you need it?"

"It's for The Dark Lady." Draco answered, knowing that one mention of Voldemort's daughter would stop Snape from inquiring any further.

"Well whatever you want it for, good luck." Snape said. "I don't know what the hell it's supposed to do, but Dumbledore said it was broken."

"I'll worry about that later." Draco said, hopping off the desk. "I just need to find it. Thanks for your help."

Leaving Snape's classroom Draco headed off up to the top of the school. He had a sneaking suspicion that Snape and Dumbledore had unwittingly placed the vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement. Now all he had to do was get the door to open on the storage room the Professors had mistaken it for.

When he arrived at the Room of Requirement, Draco checked no-one was around before beginning his attempts to find the vanishing cabinet. The first door he produced led to the room he and Hermione used every week, while the second try handed him an empty cupboard. The third try was more successful and Draco opened the door to a large room, filled to the brim with junk.

"Damn." Draco cursed as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "This will take forever."

Wishing he had Blaise and Theo to help him search, Draco set about exploring the room. He found all sorts of things, including old books, jewellery, broomsticks and various other magical objects. As fascinating as some of the stuff undoubtedly was, Draco carried on his search for the cabinet. Eventually he found what he was looking for at the back of the room, or he thought he had but it was hard to tell with all the junk plied around it.

Ten minutes later Draco had cleared the junk away and was looking at a broken vanishing cabinet. He didn't know about the magic of the cabinet, but the physical thing was definitely broken. One of the doors was hanging on by one tiny screw and one of the legs was completely broken in two. From what he'd read in the library, Draco knew the cabinet had to be in a good physical condition before it would work. Then even if they could get it to work, they had to find the matching one.

Deciding to get rid of the dust so he could see exactly what he was dealing with, Draco cast a few cleaning spells on the cabinet. When it was clean, Draco examined it closely and his eyes widened in recognition. He'd seen the matching cabinet in a shop in Knockturn Alley the summer before his second year. Draco could distinctly remember looking at it while Lucius was conducting his business with the shop owner. Draco knew it was the same one as the pattern on the side was the same and when you looked closely the wood was a dark shade of green, rather than the usual brown.

After cataloguing the damage to the cabinet, Draco stacked a pile of junk back up in front of it and left the room. Before telling Hermione about the cabinet he wanted to try and get his hands on the matching pair, after all if they couldn't find the twin cabinet it was pointless to try and fix the one in school.

Heading to the library, Draco checked out several books that would help him restore the cabinet. He also wrote a quick letter to Lucius, asking him to go and buy the cabinet from Knockturn Alley. After dispatching his owl, Draco headed back down to the dungeons where he began discovering more about vanishing cabinets and how to fix them.


	9. Completing the Set

In the Room of Requirements, Hermione lay on the sofa in front of the fire, enjoying the silence. For the last couple of weeks Gryffindor Tower had been awash with talk of Quidditch. The try-outs for the team had taken place recently and everyone had an opinion on the team. As much as Hermione wasn't interested in the sport, she had found herself in the midst of the talk as Harry was captain of the team and Ron and Ginny were both playing.

Ginny and Harry were in the first stages of becoming a couple so the redhead was around more often than Hermione would have liked. As a result of Ginny being around, Hermione was now surrounded by three people who liked nothing better than discuss Quidditch. Hermione guessed it was just their way of keeping their minds of what was going on outside of Hogwarts, but it was bloody annoying to listen to the entire time.

Luckily Hermione spent plenty of time in the library and now she had her weekly meetings with Draco to look forward to. Hermione had restricted the meetings to once a week as she didn't want anyone to get suspicious of them disappearing at the same time. Sometimes she often wished she could meet up with him more often, but there was no way she was risking everything she was working towards just to spend a bit more time with the gorgeous blond.

As if summoned up by her thoughts, Hermione heard the door open and a few seconds later Draco was leaning over the back of the sofa. Without saying a word he smiled down at Hermione, before gently brushing his lips over hers.

"Hi." She smiled as they broke the kiss.

"Hi." Draco smiled back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Hermione replied as she sat up. "I'm just making the most of the peace before having to return to Gryffindor Tower."

"I really don't know how you're able to be civil to those idiots." Draco said, walking round the sofa and sitting down next to Hermione. "It must kill you knowing that Potter killed your father."

"Harry will get what's coming to him in time." Hermione replied. "Father taught me to always be patient."

"Well your patience with me is about to pay off." Draco grinned. "I think I've found us something that will help in your plans for Dumbledore."

"You know how to get the Death Eaters into school?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"In theory." Draco said cautiously. "In reality, it's a bit more complicated."

"Explain." Hermione ordered, snapping into Dark Lady mode.

Draco recognised that Hermione was fully focused on her plan, so it was best not to keep her waiting for an explanation. As quickly and as thoroughly as he could Draco explained about the cabinet and how he'd remembered about it. He also explained that Lucius had bought what he was confident was the matching cabinet and it was sitting at home.

"Of course, I really need to check it out myself." Draco added.

"I can arrange that." Hermione said. "I'll call a meeting tomorrow night and we can both go. You can check out the cabinet while we're there."

"I might also see if father has any books that could be of use." Draco said. "The ones I've gotten from the library, aren't really helping. They explain how the cabinets work, but not how to fix them."

"Is the cabinet in a bad way?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I've fixed the door and the leg, but I have no idea about the magic." Draco explained. "But it wasn't working properly back in first year. How Dumbledore managed to get that boy out I have no idea, and we can hardly go and ask him."

"I'm sure together we can fix it." Hermione said with confidence. "Now where is the cabinet? I want to see it."

"It's in here. Only it's in some sort of store cupboard with a pile of other junk."

Hermione pursed her lips as she thought. She didn't really want to use the room for two different purposes as it could get confusing. Thinking over everything that happened the previous year, she remembered a couple of occasions when the room suddenly provided the D.A with different things as they needed them.

"Try and bring the cabinet into this room." Hermione told Draco.

"How?" Draco asked. How the room worked at all was a mystery to him so he had no idea how he could summon an object.

"Try pacing the floor and thinking about the cabinet." Hermione suggested. "If it doesn't work, we can leave the room and enter the other one but ideally it would be better if the cabinet was in this room."

"I'll try my best." Draco said as he stood up.

For the next half hour Draco paced the floor in the Room of Requirements and tried to summon the vanishing cabinet. Just as Hermione was about to suggest they give up and re-enter the room there was a small pop and an object appeared in the corner.

"Is that it?" Hermione asked Draco, pointing at the cabinet that had appeared.

Draco headed over to it and had a good look. "Yes, this is it."

Hermione joined Draco and the couple spent a while examining the thing. Since neither of them were sure of its magical state they both avoided entering the cabinet.

"First things first we need to be sure Lucius has the matching one." Hermione said, walking around the cabinet. "I don't want to try experimenting only to find his isn't part of the pair."

"Providing I'm right and father has the right cabinet, how do we go about fixing this one?" Draco asked.

"I have no idea." Hermione admitted. "We can ask Lucius for help. He could maybe dig us up some information that we could gather up at Christmas."

"Do we have a time limit on fixing the thing?"

"I would like it done this year." Hermione replied. "Over the summer I made a plan of attack and for things to go the way I want, Dumbledore has to be dead sooner rather than later."

"Do I get to know about this plan of attack?" Draco asked, walking over to Hermione and wrapping her in his arms.

"All in good time, Draco." Hermione chuckled. "As I've already mentioned, our relationship doesn't allow you any special treatment as a Death Eater. You will find out my plans if and when I decide you need to know."

"Have I ever told you how sexy you are when you're laying down the law?" Draco asked with a smirk.

Hermione laughed as she wound her arms around Draco's neck and pressed even closer to the blond. "No, I don't think you have."

"Well you are. You're very sexy." Draco whispered, trailing his lips over Hermione's cheek and down her neck.

Hermione tilted her head back to allow Draco better access to her neck. As he nibbled on her pulse point, Hermione walked them backwards until they hit the side of the sofa. In a tangle the couple went sprawling onto the sofa, the cabinet forgotten about momentarily while they behaved like the hormonal teenagers they were and indulged in a passionate make-out session.

**[][][][][]**

Lucius was waiting in his study when Hermione and Draco suddenly appeared in front of the fire. On Voldemort's insistence Lucius had changed the charm on Hermione's locket, enabling her to arrive straight at the Manor from Hogwarts. Voldemort, Hermione and Lucius had all agreed that her heading home only to floo to the Manor before returning home to go back to school was a waste of time, it was much easier for her to head straight to the Manor when she needed to attend a meeting during term time. It had also been decided that if she wanted Draco at a meeting she would bring him with her using the locket.

"Hermione, Draco." Lucius greeted his son and The Dark Lady with a warm smile.

"Lucius." Hermione smiled back at her right hand man. "Has everything been running smoothly?"

"Everything's fine." Lucius answered. "Our little attacks are keeping the Order busy."

"Good." Hermione nodded. "And I trust everyone is towing the line."

Lucius chuckled, knowing Hermione was checking his sister-in-law was behaving herself. "Everyone's behaving perfectly. Well unless you want to count some childish sulking on certain people's parts."

Satisfied that everything was okay in her absence, Hermione sent Draco and Lucius off to check on the cabinet before the meeting. Pulling her cloak out of the cupboard, Hermione magically did her nails and pulled her ring from a hidden pocket inside the cloak. Slipping the ring on she pulled her cloak on and lifted the hood to cover her face.

When she arrived at the dining room Lucius and Draco were coming down the corridor from the opposite direction. Hermione waited for them at the doors and Draco gave her confirmation that the cabinet in Lucius's possession was indeed the matching on to the one they had in Hogwarts.

"Excellent. Now all we need to do is work out how to fix it." Hermione said. "But for now, let's get inside and get this meeting underway."

Draco and Lucius entered the dining room first, before Hermione entered with a flourish and made her way to the head of the table. It was the first meeting Hermione had attended since Draco's initiation and the torture of Bellatrix and she was very aware that some people were surprised to see her back in her cloak. It was obviously just dawning on a few of her Death Eaters that they hadn't actually seen the real her in the last meeting.

"Just a quick meeting today." Hermione began. "Firstly I want to thank you all for following Lucius's ordered without fuss. I appreciate the fact I can trust you all. Secondly, I'm pleased to say the mini raids are keeping the Order on their toes. Congratulations to all involved."

Hermione paused as she let her Death Eaters bask in her praise. She knew from Lucius different people had been working on different raids and a few unexpected people had stepped up and shone at various times.

"I also want to announce my plans for Dumbledore's demise are well under way." Hermione announced to a small wave of cheering. "I also want to take time to thank Draco for his work these last few weeks. He may be our newest recruit, but I handed him a task upon his initiation and he's achieved the first part with ease. He's also made fine in roads to the next part of his task."

"And what exactly is his task?" Bellatrix asked from the bottom of the table.

"That is between myself and Draco." Hermione responded coldly. "When the time is right certain people will be let in on what he's doing for me. But that time is not now and I highly doubt you will be involved anyway, Bellatrix. Unless of course you're going to prove to me you can be trusted."

Hermione was aware of a few Death Eaters snickering at Bellatrix as she was put in her place again. There was just something about the woman that just seemed to rub people up the wrong way, even her husband didn't look particularly upset that his wife was sitting at the bottom of the table and had been practically dismissed by Hermione.

With Bellatrix sitting glowering at the bottom of the table, Hermione continued the meeting. As promised it was just a short gathering and before long she was dismissing the Death Eaters for the evening.

After the meeting Hermione and Draco made their way back to Lucius's study. While Hermione was taking off her cloak and removing her dark nail polish, Lucius handed Draco a couple of books.

"I found these in the library." He told his son. "They contain sections on vanishing cabinets. I'll keep looking, but at least it's something to begin with."

"Thanks." Draco said, sliding the books into his robes.

"Try checking at my house, Lucius." Hermione said. "There could be some useful information amongst my father's belongings."

Lucius nodded, understanding Hermione was telling him to speak to Voldemort. While his magic may have gone and his body growing weaker, his mind was still as sharp as ever. If anyone knew how to fix a vanishing cabinet it would be The Dark Lord.

* * *

**A/N – I know this wasn't the most exciting of chapters and not much happened, but sometimes chapters like these are needed to move the story along. Luckily in the upcoming chapters there's some major things about to happen, including Draco and Hermione progressing their relationship a bit further. **

**I would also just like to thank everyone for their reviews, I very much appreciate all the lovely comments. Thanks.**


	10. A First for The Dark Lady

With the couple of books Lucius had given Draco, he and Hermione were able to make some progress on the vanishing cabinet. First of all according to one of the books they needed to check the magic in the cabinet. Checking the magic was a long complicated spell, which involved brewing a potion to brush over the wood. Making the potion and mastering the spell took Draco and Hermione about six weeks.

When they tested the cabinet the results showed the magic in the cabinet was weak and fractured. Referring to the book they were using they discovered that they had to restore the magic and strengthen it before the cabinet could be of use. The book recommended using some sort of magical elixir on the cabinet, which would ensure the magic was secure. Unfortunately the pair couldn't find any additional information on this elixir they needed in the books they were using, so their research started again.

A couple of weeks later they were still having no luck so Hermione decided they should take the night off. It was only a few weeks before the Christmas break and once they were at home Draco would have access to the library at the Manor and Hermione could talk to her father and browse the literature at home.

Instead of concentrating on the cabinet, Hermione decided to focus on furthering her relationship with Draco. She was beginning to get annoyed with herself for being so shy and timid whenever they were getting closer. As The Dark Lady she was confident in what she was doing, but as Hermione she was really unsure of herself. Hermione really wanted to progress things with Draco, but whenever it came to getting more intimate she froze. She was starting to get really frustrated with herself as by the end of every meeting with Draco she was incredibly turned on and desperate for some sort of action.

The previous week Draco had commented that she needed to relax and be comfortable with both herself and him. Hermione had spent the week pondering Draco's words and decided he was right. Before they could even think of sleeping together she needed to be more confident and comfortable with herself. She also decided she needed to be more comfortable with Draco and she came up with a plan to help with that.

Hermione's plan basically consisted of getting naked with Draco as they got to know what the other one liked. The initial part of her plan worked perfectly and Hermione quite happily let Draco undress her down to her underwear. Currently Hermione and Draco were using the bed in the corner for the first time. They were lying side by side, Hermione in her matching black bra and knickers and Draco in his dark green boxers. Draco was lying propped up beside Hermione, his hand tracing patterns on Hermione's stomach. Hermione meanwhile had let the nerves get to her and she was worrying about progressing things further.

"We don't have to do anything else." Draco said quietly. "We can wait for another time."

"No." Hermione shook her head stubbornly. If she could take charge of the Death Eaters, she could get naked in front of her boyfriend. "We are doing this today."

"Do you want me to go first?" Draco asked. "After all, it's nothing you haven't seen before."

Hermione smiled as she thought back to the beginning of the summer and the time she'd caught Draco coming out of the shower. She definitely liked what she'd seen and wanted to see more, but she knew her problem was more with herself. It was herself she needed to be comfortable with exposing.

"I'll go first." Hermione said, sitting up slightly.

Reaching around her back she unhooked her bra. Instinctively she clapped an arm over her chest as the straps of the bra started to fall down her arms. Shaking his head Draco sat up and pulled Hermione's arm away from her chest. Quick as a flash Draco reached out and plucked the lacy material away from Hermione's body, before discarding it over his shoulder.

Hermione fought the urge to cover up, but her confidence was boosted by the way Draco was staring at her. She knew he'd seen other girls topless, but he seemed totally mesmerised by her bare breasts. Eventually he tore his eyes away from her chest and looked up at Hermione, flashing her a wicked grin.

"See, it's not that bad is it?"

"No, it's not." Hermione admitted with a small smile.

Still grinning Draco leant forward and connected their lips. Hermione wrapped her arm tightly around Draco, causing them both to moan softly as her nipples brushed against Draco's chest. Draco pulled Hermione closer to him as he manoeuvred them so they were lying on the bed.

Slowly Draco ran his hand up Hermione's stomach, until he reached her breasts. Hermione moaned quietly as Draco's hand gently started to explore her chest. Draco constantly kept an eye on Hermione as he caressed and explored her firm breasts, he didn't want to do anything that she wasn't comfortable with. With each stroke of Draco's hand, Hermione was becoming more comfortable and totally at ease with his hands all over her.

After a while Hermione felt confident to carry on with her plan. Briefly pushing Draco off her, she slipped the remaining piece of underwear off her body. Totally naked, Hermione settled back beside Draco. Draco could tell Hermione was still slightly tense so he leant forward for another kiss. As they were kissing his hand slowly descended down her body, until it was resting on her thigh.

Draco could fell the tenseness in Hermione's body as his hand stroked over her leg. "Relax." He whispered. "I'll not do anything you're not comfortable with."

"I know." Hermione knew Draco wouldn't do anything she wasn't ready with, not because she was The Dark Lady and he was afraid of what she would do to him, but because he genuinely cared about her.

Making sure he continued to kiss Hermione to keep her mind off what his hand was doing, Draco slowly started caressing the inside of her thigh. Instinctively Hermione's legs parted slightly and ever so gently Draco's hand started exploring her wet centre. Hermione whimpered as she felt Draco's fingers expertly stroking her lower area. Shutting her eyes she forced herself to forget her anxiety and just enjoy Draco's touch.

As his fingers glided over Hermione, Draco kissed and nipped at her neck and shoulder. All the time he kept up a constant stream of compliments to his girlfriend. Hermione was vaguely aware of Draco's voice, but her mind was firmly set on what his fingers were doing. After stroking and exploring her for a while, one of his long digits sunk into her wet heat while his thumb brushed gently over her sensitive clit. Hermione moaned loudly as Draco added a second finger and his thumb exerted a bit more pressure on her.

As Draco continued to use his fingers to bring her pleasure, Hermione felt the pressure inside her threatening to explode. A couple of whispered urges from Draco to let go, pushed her over the edge and Hermione cried out as her climax hit her. Draco continued to kiss and caress Hermione as she rode out her orgasm. As she came down from her high he removed his hand and lay watching her recover.

"That was amazing." Hermione panted when she could find the energy to talk.

"You're amazing." Draco replied, looking down at her with a smirk.

"What are you smirking at?" Hermione asked, opening her eyes to see Draco looking very pleased with himself.

"I've just given The Dark Lady her first orgasm." Draco grinned proudly.

Hermione laughed at the glee in Draco's voice. It hadn't taken her long to work out that Draco was immensely turned on by the fact she was The Dark Lady. Hermione knew her role as head of the Death Eaters was definitely part of what attracted Draco to her, but she also knew he cared about who she really was.

"Just as long as you don't go around bragging about it." Hermione said.

"I know better than that." Draco replied.

"I know you do." Hermione said, rolling onto her side and running her hand down Draco's torso. "Now, I think it's your turn to get naked."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Draco grinned, quickly removing his boxers.

Hermione's eyes quickly fell to the newly exposed part of Draco's body. Despite seeing him naked before, the sight still made Hermione blush. Last time had been an accident and Draco had only just started to respond to her before getting dressed, but now he was fully aroused and revealed to her in his full glory.

Pushing her shyness to one side, Hermione tentatively reached out and ran her finger down Draco's length. The low moan he emitted when she touched him had Hermione smiling and gave her a bit more confidence. Using her whole hand she began to experiment and discover how Draco liked to be touched, the sounds he was making were merely a bonus for her.

With a bit of guidance from Draco, Hermione soon had the blond moaning in pleasure. When he told her he was close, Hermione didn't back off and continued caressing him until he exploded in her hands. A wide grin split Hermione's face as she watched Draco fall apart at her touch. Not only was it very sexy to watch, but it gave her a lot more confidence.

While Draco was recovering Hermione grabbed her wand and cleaned them up a bit. She then settled down beside Draco and snuggled into his side. Lying her head on his chest she listened to his heartbeat return to normal as his hand brushed through her curls. After a few minutes Hermione drifted off to sleep.

Draco let Hermione sleep for nearly twenty minutes before he reluctantly woke her. As much as he would love to spend the night with the brunette witch, he knew they had to get back to their respective common rooms. While his absence could probably be brushed over by implying he was with a girl, he knew Hermione's absence would cause a stir. Her friends were far too nosy to let her get away with spending the night away from Gryffindor Tower without demanding an explanation.

Once Hermione was awake the couple dressed and arranged to meet the following week. Hermione then gave Draco a passionate kiss, before grabbing her bag and leaving the Room of Requirement. She knew Draco would give her time to be well away from the room before he left to head down to the dungeons.

As Hermione headed back to Gryffindor Tower she checked the time and discovered she was far later than usual. Normally she would worry about Harry and Ron checking where she'd been but these last few weeks both boys had been totally distracted with their girlfriends. Harry and Ginny were now officially a couple and after the first Quidditch match of the season Ron had started to date Lavender Brown.

With both her friends in new relationships, Hermione found herself as the spare part. Ginny and Lavender were almost always with Harry and Ron and Hermione often felt as though she was intruding on the two couples. It wasn't all bad however as it gave her more free time for her school work and her research for the cabinet. Hermione had also decided that if both couples were still going strong after Christmas she might up her meetings with Draco to twice a week.

When she arrived at Gryffindor Tower, Hermione found Harry and Ron playing chess in the corner and Lavender and Ginny watching them. When she headed over to them the foursome didn't mention how long she'd been gone. Hermione didn't think that they even realised she'd been gone as long.

"Hey Hermione, do you want to come to The Burrow for Christmas?" Ron asked as he beat Harry at chess. "Harry and Lavender are both coming."

"I have plans, sorry." Hermione responded. "You know I always go home for the holidays."

"But do you not fancy doing something different?" Ginny questioned. "Come on Hermione, it'll be fun."

Hermione had to fight not to roll her eyes at Ginny, spending her holidays with the two couples in front of her was not her idea of fun. She'd gotten used to Harry and Ron and the two boys rarely annoyed her now, but Ginny and Lavender were a different story. Both girls grated on Hermione and it often took all her self-control not to snap at them when they were giggling or gossiping over something inane.

"Sorry, my parents will be expecting me." Hermione answered.

"Well, we'll just have to have fun before the holidays." Harry said. "There's one last Hogsmeade trip over the weekend, let's make it a good one."

Hermione nodded as she sat back and let the foursome plan their next Hogsmeade weekend. She was betting that by midday the two couples would have gone wandering off without her, not that she wasn't bothered by that. She still had a bit of last minute shopping to do and it might be easier if her friends weren't around to question what she was buying.


	11. Dissatisfaction

Bellatrix sat at the bottom of the table in the dining room of Malfoy Manor quietly fuming. Since the end of August she'd sat back and accepted the way The Dark Lady was treating her, but she wasn't going to stand for it any more. Maybe if she was being honest with herself she could admit she made a mistake with changing the time of the attack in the summer, but that was no excuse for the way she was being ostracized. She'd been one of Voldemort's top Death Eaters and she deserved better than to be relegated to the bottom of the table and practically ignored.

The final straw for Bellatrix had just happened a few moments earlier. For the last few weeks Lucius had been talking about a Christmas party for the Death Eaters that The Dark Lady was organising. The thought of one party with The Dark Lady was bad enough, but moments ago she'd just announced there would be a New Year party held at the Manor. Bellatrix was just mentally grumbling about a second party when The Dark Lady announced it was for a select few Death Eaters that had impressed her over her first few months in charge. The Dark Lady then explained that the party's for everyone would be held twice a year, at Christmas and in the summer, and the party's for the Death Eaters that had impressed her would be happening every few months. When the invitations were handed out Bellatrix was fuming to discover she didn't have one.

For the rest of the meeting Bellatrix silently seethed. She also checked out the other Death Eaters who failed to receive invitations and see how they were reacting. To Bellatrix's annoyance they seemed to be taking it in their stride and seemed to accept that they needed to step up and impress The Dark Lady. Bellatrix however wasn't planning on stepping up and impressing The Dark Lady, she was thinking of ways to get rid of her.

When the meeting was over, Bellatrix decided to pop along and see Narcissa. If The Dark Lady saw fit to exclude her from the party she could try getting an invite directly from Narcissa. The Manor was her sister's house and if Narcissa wanted to invite Bellatrix to spend New Year with her, surely The Dark Lady couldn't complain.

"Cissa." Bellatrix greeted her sister with a wide smile as she found the blonde witch in the Manor's front room.

"Hello, Bellatrix." Narcissa replied, without looking up from the magazine she was reading. "I didn't expect to see you today."

"Can't I visit my baby sister?" Bellatrix asked, perching on the sofa beside Narcissa.

"Not without wanting something." Narcissa snorted, finally looking up at her sister. "What do you want, Bella?"

"Fine, you've got me, I want something." Bellatrix sighed. "I heard about the party you were having at New Year."

"No." Narcissa interrupted her sister, knowing exactly what she was going to ask.

"No, what?" Bellatrix frowned. "You don't even know what I want."

"You want an invite to the party." Narcissa predicted.

"Okay, I do." Bellatrix admitted. "I'm sure The Dark Lady just forgot to give me one."

"If she didn't give you one, then you're not getting one." Narcissa said. "The Dark Lady sorted the guest list."

"But it's being held at your house." Bellatrix argued. "Surely you can invite who you want."

"It's The Dark Lady's party." Narcissa answered. "Lucius and I are just letting her hold it at the Manor."

"So, you're not going to get me an invite." Bellatrix stormed, standing up and glaring at her sister.

"No." Narcissa shook her head before returning to her magazine.

"Bitch." Bellatrix hissed, before turning on her heel and storming out of the Manor.

The second she was past the Manor's boundary line, Bellatrix apparated home in a fury. When she got home she found her husband, Rodolphus and his brother, Rabastan, sharing a glass of firewhisky as they laughed and joked together.

"Where did you get to?" Rodolphus asked as Bellatrix stormed across the room and poured herself a glass of firewhisky.

"I went to see Cissa." Bellatrix replied, drowning her firewhisky in one go and pouring herself a second glass.

"Don't tell me you were trying to get an invitation to the party." Rodolphus groaned.

"It didn't work. Cissa wouldn't give me one." Bellatrix muttered as she dropped into a chair beside the fire.

"Of course she wouldn't, it's not her party." Rabastan remarked with a smirk. His sister-in-law wasn't his favourite person so he had no problem with seeing her finally brought down a peg or two.

"But it's her house." Bellatrix countered. "She could have invited me if she wanted to."

"I've told you before Bella, you need to stop this." Rodolphus told his wife. "Getting angry with The Dark Lady isn't helping your case. Just accept she's in charge and move on."

"No." Bellatrix screamed, throwing her glass against the wall. "I won't let that bitch win. I should be running the Death Eaters not her. I was The Dark Lord's right had woman, I was his top Death Eater."

"Please, you were never his top Death Eater." Rabastan said with a laugh. "Lucius always held that position, you were just too bloody stubborn to admit it."

"The Death Eaters will be mine." Bellatrix promised with a wicked smirk. "I'm going to sort The Dark Lady and her precious side kick once and for all. Just you watch, she's going down."

**[][][][][]**

Hermione smiled in contentment as she whirled around the dance floor in Draco's arms. The Christmas party for the Death Eaters had been a massive success and so far the New Year party was also proving a hit. Hermione was making sure to mix with all her father's followers and she continued to integrate herself as their leader. She'd already made a statement about how ruthless she was when she first took over, but she knew for things to really work out she had to have the Death Eaters backing her because they wanted to. Luckily she was making a great impression and the Death Eaters were loving her.

"I can't wait until the party's over." Draco whispered in Hermione's ear. With all her mingling this was the first time he'd managed to get her on her own all night.

"And why would that be?" Hermione asked.

The previous day when they'd been talking Hermione had expressed her wish to spend the night with Draco after the New Year party. She was finally ready to sleep with Draco, but she wanted their first time to be special. Actually she'd been ready since just before they finished school, but she wanted to be able to spend the whole night with Draco, not just grab a few hours together in the Room of Requirement.

"There's the obvious reason." Draco grinned wickedly at Hermione, causing her to laugh at him. "But there's another reason." He added more seriously.

"What's that?"

"I want the real you back." He whispered.

Hermione currently had her hair charmed black and her eyes were a bright shade of blue. After the incident with Bellatrix she'd been thinking about having a more public face that she could show to her Death Eaters, at least until she could show them her true self. Hermione had settled on the black hair as that was how she was disguised the first time they saw her, plus in her opinion it made her look older and less like her normal self.

"Don't you like my public face?" Hermione pouted.

"It's very nice, but it's not you." Draco replied.

"It is in public." Hermione said. "But I promise the second we're alone, I'll go back to normal."

"I'll look forward to it."

Hermione smiled at Draco before reluctantly stepping out of his arms. "I have to go and mingle a bit more. I'll see you later."

"Find me at midnight." Draco called as Hermione stepped further away from him.

Hermione nodded before turning around and disappearing into the crowds. Weaving through the crowds, Hermione smiled and greeted several Death Eaters and their partners as she passed. Reaching the other side of the room she briefly spoke to her mother, who was on her way home to see the New Year in with Voldemort. After leaving her mother, Hermione made her way over to Lucius who was conversing with the Woods.

"Mr Wood, I'm delighted you made it." Hermione smiled at the man, before turning to his wife. "Hello Mrs Wood, you look lovely."

"Thank you, my dear." Mrs Wood smiled.

"Thank you for inviting us, My Lady." Mr Wood said. "I can't think why you did however, I haven't done much since you took over."

"Firstly, your work at the Ministry is very important." Hermione replied. Wood worked in the Ministry in a pretty high up position and he would be extremely useful when Hermione wanted a few new laws passing. "And secondly, I invited you as a mark of respect for Oliver. No doubt if he was still with us, he would be here. He was going to be a fine Death Eater."

"Yes, I'm sure he would have been." Mr Wood sighed.

Hermione smiled sympathetically and listened as the Woods spoke about their son. Eventually the couple drifted off, leaving Hermione and Lucius alone to talk.

"How's your evening going?" Lucius casually inquired. "I spotted you and Draco earlier, you looked to be getting quite cosy."

"We were just dancing." Hermione said with a smile.

"That wasn't just dancing." Lucius snorted. "I was getting worried the pair of you were going to rip each other's clothes off and go at each other there and then."

Hermione couldn't help the faint blush that appeared on her cheeks at Lucius's insinuation. "I'm sure we weren't that bad." She muttered.

"Probably not." Lucius agreed with a chuckle. "I probably noticed it because I know what's going on between you two."

"Does it bother you?" Hermione asked.

"Would it matter if it did?" Lucius countered.

"No." Hermione replied. "But I would prefer it if you approved of me."

"Of course I approve of you." Lucius responded quickly. "I think you're a great match for Draco. He needs someone to keep him in line."

Hermione chuckled and was just about to ask if the same applied to Lucius when a figure caught her eye over the other side of the room. "I don't believe it."

"What?" Lucius asked, looking for what had interrupted their light-hearted conversation and put a scowl on Hermione's face.

"Bellatrix." Hermione hissed, nodding in the direction of the witch.

"I thought she wasn't invited." Lucius said.

"She isn't." Hermione replied as she stalked off.

Lucius followed Hermione and in a few minutes they were standing in front of Bellatrix. Bellatrix looked momentarily confused by Hermione, until the fierce look on her face rang a bell with her.

"My Lady." Bellatrix smirked, sounding anything but respectful as she addressed Hermione.

"What are you doing here, Bellatrix?" Hermione asked. She didn't want to make a scene and ruin the night for everyone but she wasn't standing for such blatant disrespect.

"Enjoying the party." Bellatrix giggled, spinning round in a circle.

"You're drunk." Lucius sneered at his sister-in-law, totally unimpressed by the state she was in.

"It's New Year, lighten up." Bellatrix responded.

"It's time for you to leave." Hermione told the witch. "I'll deal with you later."

"I don't think so." Bellatrix giggled again.

"Get her out of here, Lucius." Hermione said to her right hand man. Throwing Bellatrix a disgusted look she turned around and slipped back into the party.

"Come on, Bella." Lucius grabbed hold of Bellatrix's arm and easily dragged her out of the ballroom and into the garden. He was rather surprised his sister-in-law was leaving without a fight, but she did seem pretty out of it.

Lucius dragged Bellatrix around the side of the house and escorted her to the front drive. There he let go of her and told her to get lost. Once he was sure she was leaving the premises he turned and headed back indoors, making sure to erect a ward that would keep her from returning.

The second Lucius had disappeared inside Bellatrix stopped in her tracks and straightened up, suddenly she looked anything but drunk. Bellatrix stared at the Manor for several minutes before turning and marching away from the party with her head held high. That was The Dark Lady's last chance and she'd blown it, now Bellatrix was going to destroy the witch who had the nerve to look down on her.

* * *

**A/N - Thank you all so much for your great feedback. I've decided to publish three times a week, but it could increase as the story progresses. I'm still working on the third part of the trilogy, but I've now got over 20 chapters written and at the minute I'm really into it, meaning it's progressing quite quickly. **


	12. An Unexpected Invitation

Hermione was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, curled up doing some research. The book she was reading was a potions book, but not the one used for school. The book was one her father had given her over Christmas and told her she would find recipe for the magical elixir inside. Hermione was currently reading about the elixir and it looked really complicated to make, not to mention she hadn't even heard of half of the ingredients. Hermione was guessing that it would take her and Draco a good few months to find the ingredients and make the potion. It was a good job she was patient as fixing this vanishing cabinet was turning out to be a long job.

Placing a bookmark in the page, so she could show Draco the potion when they met the next day, Hermione put the book safely in her bag. She then pulled out her real potions book and began reading about the potions they would be studying this term. Hermione was so absorbed in her book she failed to notice Harry and Ron enter the common room until they were standing right in front of her.

"What's up with you two?" She asked, looking up and finding the pair grinning giddily at her.

"We've been invited to an Order meeting." Harry beamed.

Over the summer Harry and Ron, and later Hermione when she showed up at Grimmauld Place, had been included a lot more in Order discussions but they hadn't been allowed to attend an official meeting. Sirius especially liked to fill them in on what had happened afterwards but Harry and Ron always complained it wasn't the same as actually being there.

"Why are you invited to a meeting?" Hermione asked, wondering what was going on to warrant the presence of Harry and Ron.

"Not just us, you as well." Ron told Hermione.

"As for why, we have no idea." Harry admitted. "Dumbledore just caught us in the corridor and asked if we wanted to come. We have to be in McGonagall's office in ten minutes if we're going."

"Let's get going then." Hermione said, putting her book into her bag and sending it to her dorm room.

As the trio were leaving the common room they bumped into Ginny, who was just entering Gryffindor Tower. Knowing Ginny would want to come along and arguing with her would only hold them up, Harry told his girlfriend they were merely popping out for a bit and would be back before she knew it.

"Gin's going to kill us when we get back." Ron remarked as they left his sister behind.

"Yeah, but Dumbledore didn't invite her did he?" Harry retorted. "We can't just go around bringing anyone we fancy. The invitation was for us three."

"An invitation we're going to miss out on if we don't hurry up." Hermione pointed out, trying to speed the boys up. The invitation to an Order meeting was out of the blue and she was curious as to what was going on.

Worried that they might not get to McGonagall's office on time, Harry and Ron sped up. A few minutes later the three teenagers arrived at the Transfiguration Professors office to find her waiting for them.

"Come on, we have to get going." McGonagall said, ushering the trio into her office and shutting the door behind them. "Grab some floo powder and head to Grimmauld Place."

Once by one the three Gryffindors flooed to Grimmauld Place. Upon arrival they were greeted by Molly, who ushered them through to the kitchen. As they took seats around the table, Hermione knew something big was happening. Almost all of the Order were present, including Snape, McGonagall and Kingsley, who should all have been at Hogwarts. Dumbledore was also present, sitting at the head of the table talking quietly to Lupin. After a few more people arrived, Dumbledore hushed the room as he stood up.

"We have something very important to inform you." Dumbledore began. "We've received information on who is running the Death Eaters."

"We know who. Lucius Malfoy." Sirius snorted.

"That's what we thought, but new information has come to light." Dumbledore replied. "It would appear Voldemort has a daughter and she's the one in charge."

As shock filtered through the room and people began to react, Hermione began to panic. Was this why Dumbledore had asked them to be here? Did he somehow know who she was and was planning on exposing her? Looking around the room, Hermione tried to spot an escape route if it came to it. Unfortunately the room was packed with order members so if the worst happened she would have to rely on her locket getting her away.

"How do you know this?" Arthur asked.

"And who is his daughter?" Molly questioned, almost the same time as her husband.

"An unexpected source told us of Voldemort's daughter." Dumbledore answered. "And as for her identity, we don't know for sure but I have a theory."

Hermione's eyes narrowed at the mention of an unexpected source, it would seem one of her Death Eaters had betrayed her. She was slightly more relieved to hear that all Dumbledore had was a theory, but it was still worrying all the same.

"I think it's time Remus told his story." Dumbledore said, interrupting Hermione's thoughts. "And I urge you all to listen before speaking. Remus, if you will."

Lupin nodded at the Headmaster before he began to speak. "Over the New Year I was at home when my wards were breached and I had an unexpected visitor, Bellatrix Lestrange. Before I had a chance to attack her she immobilised me and claimed to have some information I would be interested in. She then proceeded to tell me about Voldemort's daughter, who goes by the name The Dark Lady."

"Why would she tells us this?" Sirius interrupted, ignoring Dumbledore's earlier warning to wait before speaking. "It has to be a trap."

"That's what I thought." Remus told his old friend. "But as she was talking I realised something. She hates this Dark Lady. By the end of her rant she fully admitted she wanted the Order to kill her."

"Do we believe her?" Kingsley asked. "Is there a Dark lady running the show?"

"Why don't you ask Snape?" Sirius spat. "He's supposed to be our informant. If this is true, he should have told us ages ago."

"Severus?" Dumbledore looked at the Potions Professor with a raised eyebrow, waiting for his explanation.

"I know nothing about a Dark Lady." Snape answered, pleased he had a readymade explanation courtesy of the woman he was lying for. "That's not to say there isn't one, but I don't attend many meetings. You all know I dealt directly with Voldemort himself as it was easier, I've just continued that with Lucius. I was assuming he was in charge, he certainly acts that way."

Hermione inwardly smiled at Snape perfectly reciting their excuse. It was nice to have even more proof of his loyalty and witness first-hand how he lied to protect her.

"So if this Dark Lady exists, why haven't we heard of her before now?" Sirius questioned.

"According to Bellatrix she only started to attend meetings since Voldemort's return." Lupin answered. "Even now she doesn't attend them all. Lucius runs most of the meetings and acts as though he's in charge, but according to Bellatrix, The Dark Lady pulls the strings."

"What's she like, this Dark Lady?" Arthur asked.

"In Bellatrix's words she's a jumped up bitch with a cruel, vindictive streak." Lupin said. "I got the impression that Bellatrix was scared of her, which is why she came to us to do her dirty work."

"How does killing The Dark Lady help Bellatrix?" Harry asked, speaking up for the first time. "If Lucius is her second in command, wouldn't he take charge?"

"I think Bellatrix was hoping we would take him out as well." Lupin answered. "She wasn't exactly complimentary of him either."

"Plus, if my theory is correct taking out The Dark Lady would affect Lucius a great deal." Dumbledore added.

Hermione frowned, wondering just was sort of theory Dumbledore had come up with. Since the mention of Bellatrix her mind had been filled with ways to inflict pain on the witch. After this Bellatrix was gone, she wasn't giving her another chance. However her thoughts about Bellatrix could wait as she waited to see if she was about to be found out.

"What theory?" McGonagall asked. "Who do you think is The Dark Lady?"

"Narcissa Malfoy."

Dumbledore's reply was met with shocked expressions and even a bit of laughter in some quarters.

"Cissa?" Andromeda, Narcissa's sister, asked in bewilderment. "You think Narcissa is Voldemort's daughter?"

"Yes." Dumbledore nodded his head. "I know it seems unbelievable, but listen to my reasoning."

Most people looked sceptical, but agreed to listen before judging. Hermione also settled back to listen, although she was working hard not to smirk at the Headmaster. She couldn't wait to hear what sort of foolishness he'd came up with to back his plan up.

"Firstly, we need to consider the fact she's only just started attending meetings." Dumbledore began. "When Voldemort was first in power Narcissa was only young and therefore wouldn't be attending meetings. She was then engaged to Lucius Malfoy before she even left Hogwarts and they were married almost as soon as she did. She then had Draco, meaning she had no time to help Voldemort. Now however Draco is in school and she has more time to attend meetings."

"Is Narcissa even the right age to be Voldemort's daughter?" Sirius asked, unconvinced by the theory Dumbledore had so far offered.

"Don't forget, he's nearing seventy." Dumbledore replied. "We have no idea when his daughter was born. We could realistically be talking about a witch nearing fifty or one as young as twenty. It's just too hard to pinpoint so we have to use other factors."

"Is it possible Narcissa is Voldemort's daughter?" Tonks asked her mother.

"I guess so." Andromeda shrugged. "My father certainly supported him and in all likelihood would have been more than happy for my mother to bear his child. Although I have to say if she was Voldemort's it didn't affect how my father thought of her. She was the princess in our family, she could do no wrong in our parent's eyes and she was spoilt rotten. I've always assumed it was because she was younger than Bella and myself, but maybe there was another reason."

"I take it there's something more to this theory." Kingsley said to Dumbledore. "There has to be a reason you focused in on Narcissa."

"There is." Dumbledore nodded. "When Bellatrix was talking to Remus, she was very focused on Lucius and Draco. Lucius is The Dark Lady's right hand man, and apparently she's very praising of Draco."

"She was rather put out by the whole thing." Lupin added. "According to her Lucius and Draco have done nothing to warrant being so important."

"Are you saying Malfoy is a Death Eater?" Ron questioned.

"Bellatrix never mentioned as much, but she implied it." Lupin answered. "According to her The Dark Lady reckons he's doing something for her, but she also reckons it's all lies and he's doing nothing."

"Malfoy can't be a Death Eater." Harry said reluctantly. "He doesn't have the mark. I've seen him on weekends wearing t-shirts and with his sleeves rolled up during lessons."

"I'd already thought of that." Dumbledore smiled proudly at Harry, pleased with his quick thinking. "And I know from exploring Severus' mark that it can't be covered up using magic, meaning Draco doesn't have the mark."

Hermione smiled at the thought that Dumbledore had experimented on Snape's mark to try and hide it. It made sense that he'd done so, but she found it amusing that because he couldn't hide it that he assumed it couldn't be done.

"So if he's attending meetings and getting praise off The Dark Lady there has to be a reason." Harry theorised. "Who would let a sixteen year old sit in on meetings and favour him, apart from his mother."

"That's why I focused on Narcissa." Dumbledore said. "It makes no sense why both Lucius and Draco are so highly thought of. We know Lucius has been a high ranking Death Eater for years, but it's odd that he's suddenly got so much more power. And as for Draco, why else would he be involved and be so important already."

Hermione watched in amazement as Dumbledore continued to talk and before long he had everyone believing his theory was gospel. He had no proof to back up what he was saying, but that didn't seem to matter to the Order. Whatever he said was accepted, no matter how tenuous the evidence.

"Do we still have Bellatrix?" Kingsley asked. "It would be handy to find out more about what we're dealing with. Plus, I find it hard to believe she would sell out her own sister. I think we have to proceed with caution."

"Sorry. As I said, she immobilised me." Lupin shrugged apologetically. "She basically told me about The Dark Lady and ranted about her for nearly half an hour before leaving. I've told you everything she told me."

"And you needn't worry about her selling out Cissa." Andromeda said. "That wouldn't bother Bella. If she thought Narcissa was in the way of what she wanted she would take her out in an instant. If she wants control of the Death Eaters she'll let nothing or no-one stand in her way."

Hermione bristled at the very idea of Bellatrix taking over the Death Eaters. That was not going to happen, she would make sure of that. In fact as soon as they left Grimmauld Place, Hermione would have to sort Bellatrix out. She wasn't letting her get away with trying to get her killed. Only one of them would be dying soon and it wasn't going to be Hermione.


	13. Making Plans

Draco was just dropping off to sleep when he felt his mark begin to burn slightly. He was slightly confused to feel his mark burning as he thought his meeting with Hermione was the following day, not to mention it was late and they always met up earlier in the evening. Despite his confusion Draco climbed out of bed and pulled on his clothes, if Hermione was calling him he wasn't going to ignore her.

Making sure he wasn't spotted Draco carefully made his way up to the Room of Requirement. Entering the room, Draco was surprised to find Hermione pacing up and down in front of the fire. Hermione was muttering to herself and didn't seem to notice when Draco entered the room. Looking around the room Draco found it was trashed, the only thing untouched was the vanishing cabinet in the corner of the room.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked quietly, not sure if he should disturb Hermione when she was clearly so furious.

"Your bloody aunt." Hermione stormed.

"What's she done now?" Draco questioned.

"She went to the Order and told them about me." Hermione replied.

"Shit. What are you going to do?"

Hermione turned to face Draco, a murderous glint in her eyes. "Kill her."

"Are you sure that's the way to go?" Draco asked hesitantly.

"Yes." Hermione nodded once, before she resumed her pacing. "I will not let her get away with this. She needs to pay."

"Okay, but first of all you need to calm down." Draco said as he slowly approached Hermione. "At the minute you're too angry to think straight. You don't want to do anything you'll later regret."

"I won't regret killing her." Hermione snapped. "She's a dead woman walking."

"Fair enough." Draco said. "But you still need to calm down and think things through."

"What's to think through?" Hermione snorted. "She betrayed me and she's going to pay. In fact I should go and do it now."

"That's not a good idea." Draco said, grabbing Hermione's arm to stop her leaving.

"Let go of me." Hermione voice was deadly as she glared down at the hand Draco had wrapped around her arm.

Draco knew he risked angering her further by not doing as she said, but he knew ultimately she would regret running off in such a state. She was so mad that Draco wouldn't put it past her to reveal who she was if she happened to run into anyone else.

"Hermione, why did you send for me?" Draco asked, refusing to let go of her arm. He had a feeling she hadn't just called for him so she could rant at someone, she could have done that without him, so she had called him for something else.

"I don't know." Hermione replied with a snarl. "But right now, I wish I hadn't bothered. Let me go, or I'll make you."

"No." Draco stood his ground, even thought he was aware he was playing with fire by disobeying Hermione. "You're going to stay here and clam down. Once you've calmed down you can decide what to do about Bellatrix."

"I know what to do about her." Hermione shouted. "I'm going to kill her."

"I'm not trying to stop you, but you need to wait." Draco argued. "If you show up like this, she'll take advantage of the fact you're not in control. I know you're tough Hermione, but she's much older and more experienced. You need to be the one in control, and to do that you need to be calm."

As he spoke Draco could feel Hermione start to calm down. He was still wary to let go of her in case she bolted, but she looked as though she was ready to sit down and talk rather than run off in anger.

"You're right." Hermione admitted quietly. "This is why I sent for you, to stop me doing something rash."

"Pleased to be of assistance." Draco grinned. "Although I have to admit, I'm relieved you're not mad at me. It was quite hard to stand up to you."

"I don't mind you standing up to me, as long as it's the right time to do so and now was the right time." Hermione said as Draco let go of her arm.

"Why don't we talk about what happened." Draco suggested, pulling out his wand and righting the sofa that was lying on it's back.

Hermione nodded as she sat down on the sofa. "You can also help me decide how best to deal with your aunt."

"I thought you wanted her dead." Draco said, joining Hermione on the sofa.

"I do." Hermione stated in a firm voice. "But I want to handle this the right way. Rushing off and confronting her now, isn't the right way to deal with her."

"I'm sure we can work this out together." Draco told Hermione.

Hermione leant over and gave Draco a brief kiss, before taking a deep breath and telling him about the Order meeting. While Draco was appalled by his aunt's actions he found it hilarious that Dumbledore thought his mother was The Dark Lady. He thought it was even funnier once Hermione told him that the rest of the Order were now also convinced by Dumbledore's idea.

As they talked Hermione continued to calm down and a plan started forming in her head. After discussing her plan with Draco, the couple reluctantly went their separate ways as they headed back to bed.

**[][][][][]**

The following morning Hermione got up early and wrote a letter to her father. Before breakfast she made a trip to the Owlrey to send the letter and was in The Great Hall before either Harry or Ron entered.

"How are you up so early?" Ron muttered as he dropped into the seat next to Hermione. "I'm bloody knackered."

"Don't look so tired Ron." Harry hissed as he settled down opposite Hermione and Ron. "Dumbledore will never invite us to another Order meeting if he thinks we can't cope. You have to look alert."

"I don't do alert on a morning." Ron grumbled, sitting up slightly and grabbing some toast.

With a bit of food inside him Ron started to perk up and was soon piling his plate with sausage and scrambled egg. As the trio ate the main topic of conversation was the previous night's Order meeting, luckily there was no-one sitting near enough to overhear them. Harry and Ron couldn't talk about anything other than Narcissa being Voldemort's daughter and Hermione was more than happy to sit back and pretend to go along with their theory. She was reluctant to say too much in case they noticed she thought the idea was ridiculous, and for now she was more than happy to let the Order head in the wrong direction as they searched for The Dark Lady.

After breakfast Hermione set off to classes, anxious for the day to be over. When she'd wrote to her father she'd asked him to invite Lucius and Narcissa over that evening and once dinner was over she was planning on heading home. Unfortunately for Hermione the day seemed to drag over and it seemed to take an eternity for it to reach dinner time.

After dinner Hermione told Harry and Ron she was heading straight for the library, and could be some time. Neither of her friends were too concerned as Ginny and Lavender were with them and were more than willing to keep their boyfriends occupied for a few hours. Instead of going to the library, Hermione headed to the Room of Requirement.

Shortly after arriving in the room the door opened and Draco entered. The previous evening they'd discussed what was going to happen and while Hermione was off making arrangements for Bellatrix, Draco was going to take a look at the magical elixir recipe and begin making lists of what they needed.

"I'm not sure how long I'll be." Hermione told Draco as she dumped her bag and school robes onto the sofa.

"Unless you're going to be hours, I'll still be here when you get back." Draco replied, settling down on the sofa and pulling the old potions book from Hermione's bag.

Leaving Draco to his work, Hermione pulled out her locket and concentrated on home. While the charm had been changed to take her to the Manor most of the time, it still took her home if that was where she wanted to go. Pressing the gemstone inside the locket Hermione vanished from Hogwarts and reappeared in the study at home.

When Hermione left the study she found her parents in the front room. Luckily Lucius and Narcissa had already arrived, meaning they didn't have to wait around for them.

"Hermione, is everything okay?" Kathleen asked her daughter as she greeted the four adults.

"Not really." Hermione said, perching on the arm of the chair her father was settled in. "The Order know I exist."

"Do they know who you are?" Voldemort asked, wondering if Hermione would be remaining at home.

"No, all they know is you have a daughter." Hermione reassured her father of her safety. "In fact they think they know who she is, but I'll get to that bit later on."

"I wonder if this is what Severus wants to discuss." Lucius mused.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. "What does Snape have to do with anything?"

"He came to see me this morning, asking for a meeting with you." Lucius answered. "He wouldn't tell me what it was about, but he did say it was urgent. I was planning on writing to you when your mother came over and told us about your invitation."

"Tell Snape I'm busy and that I'll see him when I have time." Hermione answered. "I want to deal with the traitor first."

"Who is that?" Kathleen asked.

"Bellatrix."

Voldemort hissed menacingly at the revelation, while Kathleen looked as though she could kill the raven haired witch. Lucius muttered a few choice names under his breath and Narcissa shook her head sadly.

"What are you going to do?" Voldemort asked his daughter. He knew exactly what he would do in her shoes, but she was in charge now and he wasn't going to interfere.

"I'm going to teach her a lesson." Hermione replied with venom. "I'm going to show her, and the rest of the Death Eaters, that I'm not to be messed with." Losing the harsh look on her face, Hermione turned to Narcissa. "I'm sorry, Narcissa, but Bellatrix won't survive this. I just thought you ought to know what was happening before hand."

"I appreciate your concern." Narcissa smiled at the younger witch. "I'm not going to pretend as though I'm happy about Bellatrix losing her life, but I understand you have to do whatever you see fit. It's all her own fault for trying to betray you."

"How are you going to do this?" Lucius asked. "Do you need my help with anything?"

"I want a full meeting called for Friday night." Hermione said. "Everyone is to be present, no excuses. I want everyone in place when I arrive, if you want you can talk with the Carrow's and give them the job of rounding everyone up."

"What about Bellatrix?" Kathleen asked. "Are you going to leave her until then? What happens if she runs or goes into hiding?"

"I want her locked up as soon as possible." Hermione answered. "Lucius, can you send for her and keep her in the dungeons at the Manor or something?"

"It'll be my pleasure." Lucius smirked, looking forward to the downfall of his bitch of a sister-in-law.

"When you say everyone will be there, does that include Draco?" Narcissa asked.

"I'm giving Draco the option." Hermione admitted. "He knows it won't be pleasant and if he feels he can't attend, I'm not going to hold it against him."

"He'll be there." Lucius said confidently.

"I'm sure he will." Hermione agreed.

"Enough about Bellatrix." Voldemort called. "Tell us more about this idea the Order have about your identity."

"You're all going to love this." Hermione chuckled. "Dumbledore thinks Narcissa is The Dark Lady."

The serious atmosphere was broken by Hermione's revelation as the four adults all began to laugh. Once the laughter had stopped Hermione explained how Dumbledore had arrived at the conclusion.

"If I can help in any way, let me know." Narcissa said. "I'm more than happy to play the part of The Dark Lady if it helps you."

"I do actually think we can use it to our advantage." Hermione said. "They're so convinced they're right that they're not going to look at anyone else."

"More fool them." Lucius snorted.

"Exactly." Hermione grinned. "If they're willing to be so foolish, I say we take advantage of it."

Everyone nodded in agreement and a few more plans were put in place regarding Bellatrix. Narcissa and Lucius left shortly after that, with Lucius going to call Bellatrix immediately. While Lucius was dealing with Bellatrix, Hermione and Voldemort headed into the study.

After Voldemort was settled in a chair, he directed Hermione to a couple of spell books on the shelves. The spells contained in them were all dark and Voldemort said she should practice a few on Bellatrix on Friday. Hermione readily agreed to the idea and put the books to one side so she could take them with her and study them over the next few days.

Father and daughter carried on talking about Bellatrix and her upcoming punishment, until the floo network sounded and a message from Lucius arrived. Once Hermione knew Lucius had Bellatrix safely locked up in the Manor, she said goodbye to her father and headed back to school.

When she arrived in the Room of Requirement, she found Draco was still waiting for her. He was still pouring over the potions book and had several pieces of parchment scatted over the sofa.

"How did everything go?" He asked, looking up as Hermione reappeared.

"Everything's all set." Hermione replied. "Bellatrix is being held at the Manor until Friday night."

"How did mother take the news?" Draco questioned, concern for Narcissa evident in her voice.

"Naturally she was upset, but she accepted it." Hermione answered. "If there was another way, I would take it but there isn't. Bellatrix is a liability and she had to be silenced."

"I understand, Hermione." Draco said, pulling Hermione onto his lap. "If you let her live, she'll just talk to the Order. While she may not know who you are at the minute, she'll work it out eventually. We can't take that risk."

"We?" Hermione smiled at Draco as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, we." Draco nodded. "We're in this together, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Draco had barely finished speaking before Hermione leant in and brushed her lips over his. Unfortunately a couple of kisses was all the couple had time to indulge in as curfew beckoned and they had friends to get back to.


	14. Dealing with Bellatrix

**A/N – Thanks to everyone, for their support of this story. I'm thrilled so many people are enjoying The Dark Lady trilogy.**

**A few people have asked about Voldemort and Kathleen and how they got together. There are pieces of their story mentioned now and again and most likely a bit more information will be revealed in the third part. **

**I also had a question about Draco and Hermione's night together at New Year. Yes, it happened, I just decided not to write it. It is mentioned soon (the next chapter, I think), and there are plenty more steamy moments to come between those two. **

**As for this chapter, I hope it doesn't disappoint as Hermione finally deals with Bellatrix. Enjoy!**

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Friday evening found Lucius waiting in his study for Hermione and Draco. Everyone else had arrived and were gathered in the dining room. Now they were just waiting for The Dark Lady to put in an appearance.

When Hermione and Draco did arrive, Hermione sent Draco off to join the others in the dining room while she got changed. Once again she'd decided to adopt her public persona of long black hair and dramatic make-up. Considering the circumstances she charmed her eyes to appear red, rather than the blue she had settled on over Christmas. With a few more flicks of her wand her nails were painted black, her ring was in place, and she was wearing a long well fitted black dress.

"Is everything set?" Hermione asked Lucius.

"Yes." Lucius nodded. "Everyone's here. Your mother brought you want you wanted from home and Bellatrix is still in the dungeons."

"Is Rodolphus here?"

It had only occurred to Hermione a few days earlier that Rodolphus might be affected by what was going to happen to Bellatrix. Not wanting to slip away too often, Hermione had wrote to Lucius and asked him to talk to the wizard. She made it clear that if events were going to be too hard for Rodolphus than he was free to be excused.

"He's here." Lucius replied. "He may be married to Bellatrix, but it was merely a marriage of convenience. Both of them needed to marry pure bloods to please their families, which they achieved my marrying each other. There's no real love between the pair."

"As long as he won't be causing problems afterwards." Hermione said. "Now I think it's time we got on with this. You can go and get Bellatrix now."

While Lucius went off to get Bellatrix, Hermione made her way to the dining room. Like it always was in circumstances such as these the long table was missing and everyone was gathered around the sides of the room. Entering the room, her eyes fell to her mother. Kathleen nodded briefly at Hermione and gestured to the back corner of the room. Glancing into the corner Hermione was pleased to note the presence of a wicker basket.

"I'm afraid to say tonight's meeting is not a happy one." Hermione announced. "Over the New Year I was betrayed. My existence was revealed to the Order. I will not stand for traitors being involved with the Death Eaters. We are loyal to one another and watch each other's backs and this treachery will not go unpunished."

Perfectly on cue the dining room doors blasted open and Lucius strode into the room. Magically tied behind him and being towed along was a dishevelled looking Bellatrix. When Lucius grabbed hold of his sister-in-law and threw her in front of Hermione, she spotted the older witch had a black eye and her cheek was severely bruised. Hermione suspected that Lucius hadn't been able to resist backhanding his sister-in-law.

"I take it you know what's going on." Hermione said to Bellatrix as Lucius stepped back and cast a protective circle around the centre of the room, locking the two witches inside. The circle prevented Bellatrix from using magic, and it also blocked her from leaving or anyone else entering the space.

"I have no idea." Bellatrix hissed, glaring up at Hermione. "Lucius tricked me into coming here and when I arrived he stunned me and disarmed me before I even had a chance to say hello."

"Liar." Hermione raised her hand and slapped Bellatrix as hard as she could. The sound of skin slapping against skin echoed around the room and Hermione noticed a few of the Death Eaters grinning manically. "You went to the Order and told them about me."

"And what if I did?" Bellatrix spat, still reeling from the blow she'd been dealt. She was still bound with magic, so was unable to do anything other than glare up at the witch she'd come to hate. "Someone had to do something to get rid of you."

"Did you honestly think getting rid of me would gain your control of the Death Eaters?" Hermione asked, circling around Bellatrix as she pulled out her wand. "It doesn't work like that, Bellatrix. You see the dark mark is an invention of my father's, it only responds to his blood or blood of his kin. You could never control the Death Eaters, you don't have it in you."

As she spoke Hermione flicked her wrist and undid Bellatrix's restraints. Before the witch could react and get to her feet, Hermione closed her eyes and concentrated on Bellatrix's mark. A loud squeal indicated she had hit her target and when Hermione opened her eyes Bellatrix was clutching at her arm. The area around the mark was bright red and the skin of her forearm looked to be bubbling.

"That was just your starter, Bella." Hermione sneered, stopping the pain to Bellatrix's mark. "This is going to be painful for you."

"You're not that tough." Bellatrix retorted, trying hard not to let The Dark Lady see how much pain she was in. "Do your worst, I dare you."

"If you insist." Hermione grinned as she raised her wand.

The first curse Hermione flung Bellatrix's way caused tiny cuts to cover her body. The spell was one she'd learnt from her father's books and she knew if she was doing it right that Bellatrix should feel as though she was being constantly cut with tiny knifes. As the curse continued the cuts started to bleed and Bellatrix let out a couple of soft whimpers as the pain became difficult to handle.

Not wanting things to get out of hand too quickly, Hermione ended the curse. Bellatrix's look of relief was short lived as The Dark Lady then started using the Cruciatius curse on her. Hermione knew Bellatrix wouldn't scream unless she couldn't take it any longer, and that was something she wanted to achieve. Every time she cast the curse Hermione added a bit more of her anger to the spell and eventually she got the scream she desired. Hermione made Bellatrix scream a few times before stopping the torture. By this point Bellatrix was finding it hard to move and her skin was matted with blood from the tiny cuts. A few of the cuts had even deepened from the torture and were bleeding steadily.

"Is this all you've got?" Bellatrix hissed weakly. She could barely do more than glare at The Dark Lady, but she wasn't going to let her see how defeated she was.

"This was just a warm up." Hermione cackled, casting yet another curse at the witch on the floor.

This time Bellatrix screamed instantaneously as she doubled over with pain. Inside her body her blood was boiling and she felt as though she was being burnt alive. The pain was searing through her body and it was far too strong for her to keep up her pretence any longer. Bellatrix had never felt pain as excruciating and she was so far gone that she didn't even realise when she started sobbing.

The gut-wrenching sobs echoed around the large room, and several people looked surprised to see the mighty Bellatrix in such a state. Hermione wasn't surprised at the tears, but she did decide enough was enough and ended the curse. Leaving Bellatrix in a heap in the middle of the floor Hermione wandered over to the corner of the room.

Most people's eyes followed Hermione as she knelt down beside the basket and slipped the lid off. When the long, thick body of a snake began to emerge several people stepped back. Everyone knew Voldemort could talk to snakes and they weren't sure if his daughter possessed the same gift. Hermione did indeed possesses the gift and after a few lessons from her father she found Parseltongue came naturally to her. Voldemort claimed that the ability had always been inside her, it had just lain dormant until she'd accessed it.

"Go, Nagini." Hermione said to the snake, although to the nearby Death Eaters all they heard was hissing noises coming from The Dark Lady. "Bite her."

Slithering away from Hermione, Nagini made her way to Bellatrix. The second Bellatrix saw the snake coming she tried to get away, but after everything she'd just endured she couldn't do more than shuffle a few paces along the floor. Nagini wasn't put off by her moving pray and stealthily continued inching forward. Eventually reaching Bellatrix, Nagini looked at the witch for a long time before darting forward and sinking her teeth into Bellatrix's neck.

There was a collective gasp as the snake lunged for Bellatrix. Wide eyed the entire room was transfixed as the snake slowly pulled away from the witch. The right side of her neck had two visible punctures and blood slowly seeped down her neck. Satisfied with her job, Nagini turned away from Bellatrix and went slithering back to her basket in the corner.

"Nagini's venom is deadly." Hermione announced as she walked up to Bellatrix and squatted down beside her. "You'll be dead in an hour, and I'm told it's an excruciating way to go. If you apologise I can put you out of your misery."

Bellatrix glared up at the younger witch. She was under no illusions, putting her out of her misery meant killing her, not giving her the antidote. Either way Bellatrix was a dead woman, and the last thing she said to The Dark Lady was not going to be an apology.

"Screw you, bitch." Bellatrix hissed with the last of her strength.

Hermione shrugged her shoulder as she stood up and looked at Bellatrix. "Have it your way, Bella."

Turning on her heel she walked away from the dying witch. Scanning the crowds, Hermione found Snape and made a beeline for her Potions Professor.

"Severus, I understand you want to talk to me. I seem to have an hour to kill, if you still want to talk."

"I don't think it's necessary anymore. You seem to have the matter under control." Snape replied. He was totally confused as to how The Dark Lady knew about Bellatrix. As far as he knew he was the only spy within the Order, so he had no idea how she had come about her information.

"I take it you were going to inform me of Bellatrix's betrayal." Hermione said.

"Yes, My Lady." Snape nodded. "But it would appear you're one step ahead of me."

"This time, but it doesn't mean you're not still valuable to me Severus. You often tell me things I don't know." Hermione answered. While she wanted Snape to know she had another way of gathering information from the Order she didn't want him to think he was surplus to requirements.

Snape nodded, although he still looked puzzled by who her informant was. Leaving Snape to contemplate who could have told her about Bellatrix, Hermione walked back to the witch in the centre of the room. Bellatrix was whimpering quietly and Hermione could tell she was starting to struggle to breathe. She did however have the strength to glare at Hermione with hatred. Hermione returned the glare before casually stepping over her and turning to address the room again.

"This will never happen again." She announced. "Never again will I be betrayed. I want everyone to hold out their left arm."

Apart from Kathleen everyone looked bewildered at Hermione's request, even Lucius and Draco shared a quizzical look as they also had no idea what was going on. Despite the puzzlement everyone held out their left arms, revealing their dark marks. Even those with concealment charms on their marks could see the black design on their forearm. Once Hermione had checked everyone's mark was uncovered she closed her eyes and a pulse of dark magic radiated from her, causing every mark to sting briefly.

The spell Hermione cast had been suggested by her father, as an early warning system in case she was ever betrayed again. Hermione had agreed to the spell, partly because it was handy to know she wasn't been betrayed and partly because she knew the day would come when she would reveal her true identity and she didn't want that getting back to the Order unless she wanted it to happen. She'd also cast the spell on her mother, Draco and Lucius because it was a mass spell that attached itself to the mark and she didn't want people thinking she wasn't being fair to everyone.

"That was a little extra protection." Hermione said as she replaced the concealment charms on those who had them. "If any of you ever mention me again to someone who doesn't know of my existence, I will know. I don't expect to get an alert that I've been betrayed, but I promise you if I do then Bellatrix's fate will seem tame in comparison to what anyone else will get."

Hermione let her words sink into her followers. She honestly didn't expect to have to do this again, but making sure everyone knew what she was capable of if betrayed would only ensure it didn't happen again.

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**P.S. – Even though it doesn't specifically say so, Bella is dead. I just thought this was the best place to end the chapter, rather than waiting around for confirmation of what was already apparent. **


	15. Gaining Alibis

**A/N - There's a bit of a time leap here, so we can get on with the action. In future chapters there are a couple of mentions of Bella, and what the Order are thinking about her. But for now, it's time to plan Dumbledore's demise.**

* * *

After the incident with Bellatrix, Hermione and Draco focused on fixing the vanishing cabinet. As Hermione predicted the elixir they needed to make was the time consuming part. Gathering the ingredients took several weeks and a couple of times Draco had to go and ask Snape for help. Merely telling the potions Professor that he was helping The Dark Lady with something was enough to ensure Snape helped without asking too many questions.

Even after the ingredients were gathered it still took another week to prepare everything and nearly a fortnight to brew the elixir. Just before the Easter break the elixir was ready to use and Hermione and Draco coated the cabinet in it before heading home for a few weeks. When they returned to school, they recast the spell to check its magical condition and found the magic was secure, it was just too weak to use correctly.

Luckily books about strengthening magic was something Hermione was able to gain easy access to after her father's long struggle to regain his magic. Strengthening magic in inanimate objects was much simpler than with people and Hermione and Draco easily found several spells and charms that would help them with the cabinet. After a couple of weeks of work, they were confident enough in the cabinet to start experimenting with it's magic.

The couple had spent all week practising with the cabinet and after successfully sending a few living creatures through the cabinet they knew it was fixed. To celebrate their success they had fallen into bed, which was where they currently were.

Hermione's head was thrown back in pleasure as she moved atop of Draco. Draco's eyes were glued to where they were joined as his hands skimmed over Hermione's body. Eventually his hand trailed lower, helping push Hermione over the edge. Hermione's moans got louder and she cried out Draco's name as she began to climax. Draco watched Hermione with lust filled eyes as he rolled them over and pinned her underneath him.

Hermione grinned up at Draco and wrapped her legs around his waist as he began to move. She was still recovering from her orgasm and every movement was causing her to moan in pleasure. Draco was moving at a relentless pace as he neared his own release and Hermione knew he would coax another orgasm out of her. Since starting their sexual relationship, Draco never left her wanting and always made sure she was satisfied.

Pinned underneath Draco, completely at his mercy, Hermione writhed in pleasure. She loved the fact that Draco was so dominant in bed and he was clearly in charge when they had sex, unlike the rest of their life where as The Dark Lady she was in charge. He would often give her the illusion of being in charge, but Hermione was always aware that at any time he could take back control.

As Draco's thrusts got more erratic, Hermione wrapped her legs around him even tighter. When Draco climaxed with a shudder, Hermione followed right behind him. Collapsing back onto the bed, Hermione held onto Draco as he lay propped on top of her. Wrapping his arms around Hermione, Draco rolled over so she was the one lying on him.

Hermione lay with her head on Draco's chest, while he ran his hand through her hair. As they lay in silence, Hermione thought back over the last few months, relieved that she still had Draco. After what had happened with Bellatrix she had half expected Draco to back off and decide she was too dangerous to get involved with. For a few weeks after the incident she had occasionally caught him looking at her, but she couldn't decide if he was scared of her or worried about her. Slowly the looks happened less often and things carried on as normal with Draco appearing to have no problem with her.

"We need to start making plans." Hermione said eventually.

"I thought that's what you've been doing these last few weeks." Draco replied. For the last couple of weeks, he'd finished the final few spells on the cabinet while Hermione was busy coming up with a plan to kill Dumbledore.

"It is, but you still need to do your part." Hermione answered as she sat up.

"Just tell me what you need me to do." Draco said, also sitting up in bed.

"You're going to get yourself a solid alibi for the night of Dumbledore's death." Hermione said. "I don't want anyone accusing you of being involved."

"How will they? Surely everyone's going to know there's Death Eaters in the school." Draco frowned

"I want to do this quietly." Hermione replied. "I want there to be a mystery surrounding Dumbledore's death. As much as the Order are going say he was killed by Death Eaters, they'll not be able to prove it. They'll also try and blame either you or Snape, which is why you need an alibi."

"I can sort something out." Draco said. "I'm sure I can make sure I'm with Blaise and Theo at the time."

"No, that won't do." Hermione shook her head as she got out of bed. "You need to be with someone the Order won't have any choice to believe. If you're with your friends they'll just accuse them of lying to protect you."

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Draco asked, watching Hermione as she wandered over to the table where he'd been doing a bit of homework earlier in the evening.

Hermione grinned at Draco as she picked up the Transfiguration essay he was nearly finished. Glancing down at the parchment, she casually tore it in small pieces.

"What the hell are you doing?" Draco cried, watching in shock as his girlfriend destroyed his homework. "I've spent ages doing that."

"Now, you're going to get detention." Hermione smirked. "Everyone knows McGonagall doesn't give second chances when it comes to homework. When you fail to hand yours in tomorrow, she'll give you detention."

"And while I'm in detention, Dumbledore will be killed." Draco exclaimed, catching onto Hermione's plan. "No-one will accuse McGonagall of lying for me. If she says I was with her, then I've got a perfect alibi."

"It's going to be even better when both McGonagall and Ron are with you." Hermione replied, walking back over to the bed and gathering her clothes.

"Weasley?" Draco's nose curled up in disgust. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"He'll be in detention with you." Hermione answered. "The more people who can vouch for you, the better. Especially if it's people who don't like you and wouldn't be lying."

"Why does it have to be Weasley, why not Potter?" Draco asked, still not happy about the inclusion of the redhead. While he didn't like Harry either, he was easier to put up with, whereas Ron just annoyed him by existing.

"I've got other plans for Harry." Hermione told her boyfriend.

"Is there anything else you want me to do?" Draco asked, knowing it was pointless to argue with his girlfriend as she was in her Dark Lady mode.

"Yes, once you've got detention I want you to speak with Snape. He needs an alibi for the same evening, I don't want him being accused either. Make sure he knows he should be with someone the Order trusts and will believe when they say he was with them."

**[][][][][]**

After spending the night working out how to get Ron into detention the same night as Draco, Hermione had her opportunity to implement her plan almost as soon as she got up. She was standing in the common room waiting for Harry and Ron to get ready, when she spotted Ron's Transfiguration essay sitting on the table. When Ron hurried over to get the essay he was so busy talking to Harry about the latest Order meeting they'd attended, that he failed to notice Hermione cast a spell on his work as he rolled it up and placed it in his bag. Confident that her actions would result in Ron getting detention, Hermione headed off to breakfast with a smile on her face.

Mid-morning found the Gryffindors and Slytherins heading into Transfiguration class together. Once everyone was settled, McGonagall began the lesson by asking for the homework assignment she had set the previous lesson. When everyone pulled their homework from their bags, McGonagall focused in on the one person who didn't move.

"Mr Malfoy, where is your homework?" McGonagall snapped at the blond.

"I've forgot to do it." Draco shrugged. "I knew I was forgetting something, but I couldn't for the life of me think what it was."

Draco's flippant reply and his couldn't care less attitude caused a few of the Slytherins to chuckle at their friend. McGonagall however was less than happy with the blond's attitude and glared menacingly at him.

"You know what happens when people fail to turn in homework. You'll have detention with me on Friday evening after dinner, you can do the essay then." McGonagall said, before turning to the rest of the class. "And I hope everyone else's homework is up to scratch or you'll be joining Mr Malfoy in detention."

With that McGonagall began walking around the room and gathering up homework. When she was handed Ron's work, she unrolled it to look at it, just as she had done so with everyone else. Frowning at what she saw, or didn't see, she turned her attention to the redhead.

"Is this your idea of a joke Mr Weasley?"

"No Professor, it's my homework." Ron replied, wondering if his work was so bad that McGonagall was going to give him a bad grade just by looking at it.

"This is your homework?" McGonagall turned the parchment around so Ron could see she was holding a blank piece of parchment in her hands.

"I don't understand." Ron frowned. "That should be my essay."

"Maybe you picked the wrong bit of parchment up this morning." Harry suggested, coming to his friends defence.

"Yes, that's what happened." Ron nodded eagerly, latching onto Harry's theory. "I must have picked up the wrong thing. My essay must still be sitting on the desk on the common room."

"If that's the case, I suggest you go and get it." McGonagall said, turning to carry on collecting homework. "Now, Mr Weasley." She called as Ron made no effort to move.

Quickly taking advantage of his reprieve, Ron jumped up and bolted from the room. Ten minutes later he returned, empty handed.

"It looks like you're joining Mr Malfoy in detention." McGonagall commented. "I expect to see you in my classroom, after dinner on Friday night."

"But I've done my homework." Ron argued. "It has to be in Gryffindor Tower somewhere. I can bring it to Friday's lesson."

"On Friday's lesson I will expect you to bring your homework from today's lesson." McGonagall retorted. "I'm sorry Mr Weasley, you know the rules. If you fail to turn in your homework you get a detention."

**[][][][][]**

Potions was the last lesson of the day and Draco entered the classroom in a good mood. Hermione's plan with the detentions had worked perfectly and it had been amusing to see Weasley in such a panic over his missing homework. Draco, Blaise and Theo had just passed the redhead on their way to Potions and they'd had a good laugh when they heard him still droning on about it to Potter.

Settling down at their table, Blaise and Theo were still laughing about Weasley. Draco kept joining in the conversation and they only stopped talking when Snape started the lesson. As they were about to start working on a new potion, Snape spent the first half of the class talking about the upcoming potion they would be making and asking questions. Draco knew all of the answers to Snape's questions, but he never put his hand up to answer. In fact the only person who did raise their hand was Hermione.

After asking Hermione for the answer several times, Snape started ignoring the pushy Gryffindor and started asking other people for the answer. His ploy worked for a while, until he asked Theo a question and the Slytherin couldn't answer. Before Snape had the chance to redirect the question to someone else, Hermione had volunteered the answer without being prompted.

"Miss Granger, I was not asking you." Snape sneered, turning his attention towards the Gryffindor witch. "We all know you're an insufferable know-it-all who can't keep quiet to save her life, but do try. There are other people in the class, you know."

Draco couldn't help but snicker quietly at both Snape's outburst and Hermione's outraged expression. Of course his friends thought he was laughing because Hermione had been scolded, but what he found really amusing was the thought of Snape's reaction when he found out who Hermione really was. Draco could remember how mortified he'd been to discover he'd been calling The Dark Lady names for years and he figured that Snape would have a similar reaction when he discovered the truth.

The rest of class passed by uneventfully and as they were packing up to leave Draco told Blaise and Theo he would catch them up. Staying behind to talk to Snape wasn't something Draco normally did, but considering the Potions master was Head of Slytherin and an old friend of the family, it wasn't too strange.

"Draco, what can I do for you?" Snape asked after everyone had gone and the blond boy remained in his seat.

"I have a message for you." Draco replied quietly. "From The Dark Lady."

"Step into my office." Snape said, his eyes darting from side to side as though he was worried they were being spied on.

Draco grabbed his bag and the pair headed into Snape's office. Once in his office Snape locked both the door to the classroom and the door to the corridor and ushered Draco into a seat in front of his desk.

"The message." Snape prompted, when Draco didn't speak straight away.

"The Dark Lady wants you to provide yourself with an alibi this Friday after dinner." Draco said. "It has to be with someone the Order trusts and won't question, but not Dumbledore."

"Why do I need an alibi? What's going on?" Snape questioned.

"My job was merely to pass the message along." Draco replied.

"I'll make sure it's done." Snape said with a nod. Needing an alibi meant something big was going to happen and considering he wasn't allowed to get an alibi from Dumbledore he was guessing the Headmaster was somehow involved in The Dark Lady's plans.

"Good. The Dark Lady did say she would be most unhappy if you didn't have an alibi and got caught up in any nastiness." Draco said as he stood up.

Snape wondered if Draco knew exactly what was going on, but dismissed the idea. Chances were the message from The Dark Lady had been passed via Lucius and Draco was just trying to sound as though he knew more than he actually did.


	16. Invasion

By Friday, Hermione was sick to death of hearing Ron complain about his detention with McGonagall. The redhead had done nothing but grumble about someone being out to get him all week. If it hadn't been for the fact his homework had gone missing in Gryffindor Tower, Hermione was convinced he would have started pointing the finger at the Slytherins.

Ron was still complaining during dinner on Friday, but Hermione was blocking him out by this time. Her mind was firmly on the night's events as she went over everything again looking for where things could go wrong. To be honest her plan relied on everything with Dumbledore running as normal, one change in his routine and she was in trouble. There would also by trouble if Harry messed up his unknowing part in proceedings.

As dinner drew to a close Hermione snapped back to attention when she heard her name mentioned by Harry. As it turned out he was just offering for the pair of them to walk Ron to detention, something Hermione was more than happy to do. As they stood up Hermione casually caught Draco's eye, giving him the signal to get going to detention. By the time the trio reached the door of The Great Hall, Draco was a few steps in front of them.

"I can't believe I'm stuck spending my Friday night in detention with Malfoy." Ron complained, loud enough for the blond in front to hear. "Lavender's barely speaking to me, we had plans for tonight."

"We don't need to hear about your sex life, Ronald." Hermione tutted.

In the last couple of months Ron and Lavender had started sleeping together and Ron was constantly alluding to the fact he was getting some action. Hermione thought he was just bragging because as far as he knew Harry and Hermione weren't having sex. Harry was still with Ginny, but as she was younger than Harry, Ron assumed she wasn't ready for sex. What Ron didn't know was that his best friend and sister had slept together before him and Lavender did the deed. As for Hermione, Ron thought she was a hopeless singleton. He had no idea she was sleeping with the blond boy in front of them.

"Look on the bright side Ron, detentions only a couple of hours." Harry said to friend, trying to cheer him up. "You can talk to Lavender later on."

"Yeah, I guess." Ron sighed as they reached McGonagall's classroom.

While the trio were standing in the doorway, Hermione glanced inside the class and smiled. Draco was settling into a seat in the centre of the front row of the class. They'd discussed the detention the previous day and Hermione had made it clear to Draco that he had to remain in Ron's line of sight the entire time, even a couple of minutes unsighted by Ron would lead the Gryffindor to claim Draco might have slipped out of the class. As it was it didn't matter where Ron sat, he would be able to see Draco the entire time. When Dumbledore was found dead there was no way anyone could blame Draco, they'd followed him from The Great Hall and Ron would now spend the next couple of hours in his presence.

Once Ron had disappeared into detention Hermione and Harry made their way to Gryffindor Tower. The second they entered the common room Colin Creevey came rushing over to them, waving an envelope in his hand.

"Harry, this was sitting on one of the desks with your name on." He said excitedly, grinning at the chance to talk to Harry.

"Thanks Colin." Harry smiled at the younger boy as he took the envelope from him. Tearing it open his eyes widened in surprise when he read the contents of the small note.

"What is it?" Hermione asked. She knew exactly what was in the letter as she'd used magic to write the fake note before leaving it on the desk in the corner of the common room.

"It's from Dumbledore." Harry answered. "He wants to see me in his office." Looking up at the clock he checked the time before looking back down at the note. "In an hour."

"I wonder what he wants." Hermione mused.

"Probably just Order stuff." Harry responded smugly. Since their first Order meeting the trio had been to several more, but Harry had met with Dumbledore a few times on his own, hence the reason Hermione knew the note wouldn't appear suspicious.

"Well, I'm off to the library. There's a couple of books I need for my Potions homework." Hermione said as Harry settled down beside the fire. "I'll not be long so I'll see you before you leave to see Dumbledore."

"Okay." Harry called, losing interest in Hermione as Ginny entered the common room and made her way over to him.

Leaving Harry to occupy his time with Ginny, Hermione left the common room. She headed straight for the Room of Requirement, where she then proceeded to remove her uniform and change into a long, black dress. She then charmed her appearance so she looked like she always did in front of her Death Eaters these days. With her hair and eyes changed she magically applied make up, did her nails and slipped on her ring that she had brought back to school after Easter.

When she was in full Dark Lady dress she closed her eyes and concentrated on her mother. Kathleen was leading the night's activities and it would be her that killed Dumbledore. Hermione was really tempted to do the deed herself, but she figured her mother deserved some of the action. After all Dumbledore's curse all those years ago had robbed her mother of a healthy husband. Her parents may have stayed together and loved each other no matter what, but Hermione knew it hadn't been easy on them given how weak her father had been for so long.

A few minutes after summoning her mother the vanishing cabinet let out a faint glow and the door opened. Kathleen emerged from the cabinet, followed shortly by four other Death Eaters. Despite them all being in their cloaks and masks, Hermione knew who they all were.

"We don't have long." Hermione said. "You all know the plan, I take it."

"Yes, My Lady." Kathleen replied. As the Death Eater in charge she was the one to respond and she couldn't let on she was talking to her daughter.

"Follow me, and be careful." Hermione said, before turning around and heading for the door.

Slipping out into the corridor, Hermione merged into the shadows of the hallway as she began leading the Death Eaters to Dumbledore's office. As they made their way through the castle, keeping to the shadows, Hermione was pleased the school was so easy to sneak about in. The castle had several alcoves in which they hid themselves in the couple of times someone passed by, and just walking along the side of the corridor provided enough shadow for them to blend in.

When they arrived at Dumbledore's office, Hermione double checked no-one was around before leaving the safety of the shadows and whispering the password that opened the stairs to his office. Luckily Harry wasn't bothered about privacy and had mentioned the password while talking to Hermione and Ron the other day. With the stairs to Dumbledore's office revealed, the Death Eaters snuck out of their hiding places and ran towards the stairs. As they disappeared out of sight and the gargoyle spun around again, Hermione slunk back into the shadows, all she could do now was wait.

Waiting had never seemed so hard and with every minute that passed, Hermione was getting more and more nervous. Anything could have gone wrong up there and she would never know until it was too late. What if Dumbledore wasn't even in his office? Normally after dinner he returned to his office, but what if he'd changed his plans today? Hermione shook her head at the thought of Dumbledore not being there, if that was the case someone would have come back and told her. He was up there, things were just taking longer than she would have liked.

Despite it seeming like an eternity had passed since the Death Eaters headed up to the office, it was only fifteen minutes later when the gargoyle sprang into action and turned around, revealing the stairs. Hermione watched from the shadows as the first two Death Eaters exited the stairs quickly and slunk into the shadows beside her. The next three Death Eaters came out together, and one of them was being propped up in between the other two. Hermione heart briefly stopped at the sight, until she realised her mother was the Death Eater on the right, the one being propped up was the former Slytherin Quidditch captain, Marcus Flint.

"It's done. Dumbledore's dead." Kathleen said as the trio reached the shadows. "But he got Marcus with a curse."

"Get him back to the Manor." Hermione insisted. "And well done, everyone."

Hermione and the Death Eaters made their way back to the Room of Requirement, moving much slower because of the injured party amongst them. When they did get back the Death Eaters began travelling back to the Manor. Kathleen was the last to go, wanting to speak with Hermione before she left.

"Be careful, sweetheart." She said, pulling Hermione into a hug.

"I'm always careful." Hermione replied.

"I know, I just don't want to lose you." Kathleen whispered.

"Is everything okay, mum?" Hermione pulled back and looked at her mother.

"It's fine, I just worry about you." Kathleen admitted. "I know you're more than capable of taking over your father's mantle, but you're still so young. It has to be hard doing all this and playing the part of Potter's best friend."

"I can cope. Besides it's only for another year." Hermione reassured her mother. "I need to go. We can talk properly when I get home, I want details of Dumbledore's last moments."

"Of course." Kathleen smirked. "I'll enjoy telling you the story of how he met his end."

Hermione shared a final goodbye with her mother before she used the vanishing cabinet to leave Hogwarts. Quickly changing back into her schoolgirl persona, Hermione grabbed her bag and rushed back to Gryffindor Tower. If she was lucky she would run into Harry before he left to see Dumbledore.

As it turned out Hermione was lucky and just as she arrived at the portrait of The Fat Lady, Harry was exiting the common room.

"Hey, I'm just off." Harry said.

"Oh yeah, your meeting with Dumbledore, I forgot." Hermione replied.

"I'll tell you and Ron all about it when I get back." Harry promised, stepping out of the way so Hermione could enter the common room. "See you later, Hermione."

"See you, Harry." Hermione called, before entering the common room.

Instead of heading up to her dorm room, Hermione put on a smile and settled down next to Ginny. Ginny wasn't her ideal person for spending time with, but she wanted to be around when Harry returned and the fun began.

**[][][][][]**

Walking up the spiral stairs that led to Dumbledore's office Harry got his first clue that something was wrong when the door that led into Dumbledore's office was standing wide open. Pulling his wand out, Harry cautiously approached the door and peered inside.

The circular room was an absolute mess and it didn't take a genius to see some sort of skirmish had taken place. Dumbledore's desk was cracked in half, papers and belongings from it strewn across the floor. Glass from the cabinet behind Dumbledore's desk littered the floor alongside sweets from the bowl he always kept handy. Everywhere had been ransacked and there were other ruined belonging's on the floor, including Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles which had clearly been trodden on.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry called tentatively, as he entered the room and picked up the broken glasses.

Placing them on top of a cabinet that hadn't been tipped over, Harry continued to look around the room. The Portraits of the former Headmasters weren't any help to Harry as they had all been viciously slashed. Finally spotting a partly hidden doorway over the other side of the room, Harry began tiptoeing his way through the debris. He guessed the door led to Dumbledore's private quarters, and in other circumstances he wouldn't dream of entering, but something had clearly happened in the Headmaster's office.

"Professor Dum…" Harry's words trailed off as he poked his head round the door and spotted the lifeless body of his beloved Headmaster.

Pushing the door open fully, Harry ran over to the Headmaster and knelt down beside him. He knew Dumbledore was dead, but that didn't stop him trying to wake the Headmaster. As he shook Dumbledore and called out his name, Harry began to cry loudly. Eventually he stopped the shaking and just leant over Dumbledore's lifeless form, sobs wracking his body.

After about ten minutes Harry regained his wits and sat up. Wiping his eyes he raised his wand and produced his patronus. He hadn't worked out how to add a voice to the silvery animal yet, but he did know how to direct it. Sending the patronus off to Kingsley, Harry stood up and slowly walked back into Dumbledore's office.

When Kingsley arrived they would begin the hunt for whoever had killed Dumbledore and Harry already had two prime suspects in mind, Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy. One of them had killed Dumbledore and Harry was going to make sure they went to Azkaban and never saw the light of day again.

* * *

**A/N – I just want to write a quick note to a guest reviewer, jayleaf1. **

**When looking through the reviews, I found the one you left at the end of TDL1 asking for a warning about mature scenes. I can remember it and I did mean to include a warning at the beginning of such chapters, but I forgot. Sorry. I will try and remember to include one in the future. **


	17. Laid to Rest

Exactly a week after the death of Dumbledore the whole school gathered to pay their respects to the Headmaster. As well as the staff and students of Hogwarts, numerous other people in the wizarding world were in attendance as the elderly wizard was laid to rest. The entire Order was present, as were the school governors and several officials from the Ministry.

Dumbledore's funeral was being held in the grounds of Hogwarts and the seats were rapidly filling up. Hermione was sitting in between Harry and Ron, with their girlfriends sitting on either side of them. The group were near the front of the crowds at Harry's insistence. Hermione would rather have been at the back so she could observe what was going on easier, but it was more important that she stayed with Harry as that was what expected of her.

As more people continued to arrive, Hermione thought back over events of the last week. So far her plan had worked perfectly and no-one could work out who had killed Dumbledore or how they had even gained entry to the school.

Harry's main suspect had been Snape but that theory was blown out of the water almost immediately. Snape had shown up in Dumbledore's office with Kingsley after he'd received Harry's patronus. As it turned out Snape had been with Kingsley since before dinner, discussing the school's security, which meant he couldn't have played a part in Dumbledore's death.

With Snape in the clear Harry had turned his attention to his other suspect, Draco. Unfortunately for Harry, that theory was also squashed as soon as he mentioned it to Hermione and Ron. As much as Ron hated Draco, he pointed out to Harry that the Slytherin couldn't have been involved. Dumbledore was still in The Great Hall when they left to head to Ron's detention, and Draco was right in front of them. Draco was then in detention with Ron the entire time and he was still there when the news came about Dumbledore's death.

With his two theories blown, Harry just had to hope the Aurors came up with a solution when they started investigating. However the Auror's couldn't find any sign of the wards around the school being broken or tampered with, and they had no idea how anyone could enter Hogwarts without being detected. With no obvious sign of entry and no strangers spotted around the grounds the attention turned to those already in school. The entire student body and staff were all spoken to and had their wands checked for any suspicious activity. Everyone's wand came up clean, leaving the Aurors at a dead end.

In private the Order agreed Dumbledore was killed by Death Eaters, but they had no idea how to prove it. The absence of the dark mark was definitely a stumbling block in getting people to believe them as everyone knew the Death Eaters always left the mark to advertise their actions. Also like the Aurors, they had no idea how the Death Eaters had gained access to the school and gotten to Dumbledore.

Despite having no proof Harry continued to insist either Snape or Draco were involved in Dumbledore's death. For the last week he'd done nothing but glower at the pair as he vowed to prove they were guilty. The fact that the Slytherins had all chosen to stay to attend Dumbledore's funeral proved even more suspicious to him, after all everyone knew the Slytherins despised Dumbledore. Both Hermione and Ron did point out that the whole school had chosen to stay, and chances were the Slytherins didn't want to look bad in front of the wizarding press, who had descended on the school as soon as the news about Dumbledore broke.

Hermione was drawn back to the present as McGonagall stood up in front of everyone and called for silence. Once everyone was quiet soft music began to play and Hagrid appeared, carrying Dumbledore's coffin. As Hagrid placed the coffin in front of the gathered crowds, soft crying could be heard all around. To Hermione's right Harry was crying quietly and clinging onto Ginny, who was sobbing quite loud. To hide the fact she wasn't crying, Hermione dipped her head, now anyone looking at her would assume she was overcome with emotion.

Hermione sat with her head bowed for the rest of the service, which consisted of people standing up and telling everyone what a great man Dumbledore was. Once the service was over, Hermione accompanied her friends back inside the castle. The Hogwarts Express was leaving the following day and they still had packing to do. Technically the term wasn't supposed to end for another three weeks, but after Dumbledore's death it was decided that term would end immediately. The only reason Hogwarts hadn't closed right away was the investigation that had to be carried out and the funeral service that had just taken place.

**[][][][][]**

After sitting through Dumbledore's memorial, Draco and his friends headed down to the Black Lake to enjoy the late afternoon sunshine. The boys were all packed up and ready to go and if it wasn't for the fact they would have looked disrespectful they would have already left Hogwarts to return home.

"We've came to a decision." Theo announced suddenly.

"About what?" Draco asked from his position lying on the bank of the lake.

"We want to join the Death Eaters." Blaise answered.

Draco sat up and looked at his four friends, who were all waiting for his reaction. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because it's your father pulling the strings these days." Blaise replied.

"Plus, we all know you're involved with them." Theo added.

"What makes you think that? Look, my arm's bare. I don't have the mark." Draco waved his concealed arm in front of his friends.

"You may not have the mark, but you're involved." Theo stated. "Don't play with us Draco, we know you and you've been up to something these last few months."

"I may have been up to something." Draco smirked. "But I'm not at liberty to say what."

"We're not asking questions about what you were doing." Blaise told Draco. "We just want your help to join up. Even if we aren't allowed the mark, we want to help."

"Are you sure?" Draco asked. When Theo and Blaise nodded quickly, he turned to Crabbe and Goyle who had so far remained silent. "What about you two?"

"We want to help as well." Goyle answered.

"Yes, we know what we're doing." Crabbe added.

"Okay." Draco nodded, satisfied Crabbe and Goyle weren't just being swept along by Blaise and Theo. "I'll see what I can do."

"Is that it?" Blaise questioned as Draco lay back down and shut his eyes.

"Yep." Draco replied. "I can't exactly do anything now, can I? I promise I'll speak to father when I return home."

"Why can't you do it today?" Theo asked. "He was here for Dumbledore's funeral, I'm sure he'll still be around. Most of the adults are still over the other side of the school."

Draco opened his eyes and gave Theo a disdainful glare. "I can hardly go and talk to him about such a sensitive issue in public. You'll have to wait until we get home."

Conceding Draco had a point Theo settled back to enjoy their last afternoon at Hogwarts. Draco had promised to speak to Lucius over the holidays, and he wouldn't let his friends down. Hopefully by the time they started their seventh year they would all be Death Eaters or at least helping them.

**[][][][][]**

Hermione was in the Room of Requirement, making sure there was nothing left behind, when Draco entered the room.

"I didn't expect to see you here." Hermione said, smiling at her boyfriend.

Her visit to the room had been a last minute decision and she hadn't sent for Draco as she didn't really have long to spare. With going home the following day she couldn't exactly use studying in the library as an excuse, as it was she claimed to be returning a few books and was expected back soon.

"I wanted to check we'd gotten everything." Draco told Hermione. "I heard a couple of the Aurors mention they would be thoroughly scouring the school over the holidays and I didn't want them stumbling into here and finding something incriminating."

"That's what I'm doing." Hermione said. "I haven't found anything."

"What about the cabinet?" Draco questioned. "If someone finds that they might be able to work out what it does."

"I hadn't thought about that." Hermione turned and stared at the cabinet. After all the work that had gone into fixing it she didn't want to break it again, but she couldn't see another option.

"We're going to have to break it again, aren't we?"

"It looks like it." Hermione replied with a sigh. "It's too dangerous to have lying around in working condition, and we can't remove it without risking being spotted."

"Look on the bright side, at least we know how to fix it if we need it again." Draco remarked as Hermione approached the cabinet.

"I guess so." Hermione said as she cast a few spells on the cabinet. Just to make sure it wouldn't work she got Draco to break the leg and damage the door. "I also think we need to get it back into the junk room. That way if someone finds this room, they'll just assume it was used by two randy teenagers meeting up for a quick shag."

"How do we get it out of here?" Draco asked.

"The same way you got it in." Hermione replied. "Once we're sure we've left nothing behind, we can concentrate on turning the room into the junk room."

After making sure nothing incriminating was left behind, Draco then set about changing the room into the messy place he'd discovered the cabinet. They decided Draco should be the one to bring about the change as he'd actually seen the room and could visualise what they needed. After a few minutes the room began to flicker around them and their cosy room disappeared, to be replaced by a dingy, messy room.

"Is this it?" Hermione asked, looking around at the junk in distaste.

"Yeah." Draco nodded as he began piling a bit of junk in front of the broken cabinet. He was confident no-one would notice it had been used, but if it was partly hidden it might even go unnoticed.

While Draco was hiding the cabinet, Hermione looked around the room. It had clearly been in use for years as some of the things that had been dumped looked decades old.

"You know I had an interesting conversation with my friends this afternoon." Draco said as he continued to bury the cabinet and make the area look undisturbed.

"Really?" Hermione responded, although her attention was on the junk she was looking at.

"Yeah. They want to join the Death Eaters." Draco responded.

"They what?" Hermione whirled round to face Draco. "Are you sure?"

"They asked me to speak to father." Draco said, stepping away from the cabinet and brushing the dust off his clothes.

"Are they genuine?" Hermione asked. "Do they really want to join?"

"Yes." Draco nodded. "They're dying to help. Even if they don't get the mark, they want to do something."

"What do you think I should do?" Hermione inquired. "Should I let them join?"

"That's your decision, but in your position I would give them the mark."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "I'll speak to them over the summer. If I'm satisfied, I'll give them the mark."

"They'll be thrilled." Draco said.

"Don't tell them just yet." Hermione warned. "Wait until you've been home a few days before contacting them and telling them you're arranging a meeting for them. I'll let you know when I'm ready to deal with them, but I do have other things to do over the summer."

"Do your plans include telling me about your master scheme?" Draco asked. He knew Hermione was working on a larger plan and he was dying to know what it was.

Hermione smiled at Draco as she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a brief kiss. "Yes, I'll tell you my plans over the summer."

Draco grinned at Hermione before firmly reconnecting their lips. Hermione melted into Draco for several minutes, before reluctantly pulling away from her lover.

"I need to go." She whispered. "Harry and Ron will be wondering what's taking me so long."

Draco doubted Potter and Weasley would even notice Hermione's absence, but he knew they couldn't take that risk. Letting his girlfriend leave he waited five minutes before leaving the room himself and heading back down to the dungeons. While the rest of the school may have been mourning, the Slytherins were celebrating the early end to the year and Draco knew they were going to have a good last night.


	18. Future Plans

**A/N – This chapter gives a peek into Hermione's future plans, and also gives an idea of the direction the third part of the story will be heading in. Of course this part still has a way to go, there's the rest of summer to get through and seventh year.**

* * *

Hermione's first week of the holidays was spent with her parents. Kathleen told her the full story of what had happened the night of Dumbledore's death. As it turned out Dumbledore had only managed to put up a slight fight before being outnumbered, enabling Kathleen to kill him. Voldemort meanwhile revelled in the old wizard's death and kept telling Hermione how proud of her he was.

After a few days at home, Hermione finally mentioned her plans for the future to her father. Hermione was nervous about telling Voldemort her plans as she knew it was a route he would never have taken. Despite that, Voldemort listened to Hermione and agreed while her plan wouldn't work for him, it could work for her. After speaking with her father about her plan Hermione was more confident about implementing it and set up a meeting with Lucius, before a full meeting of the Death Eaters.

Hermione arrived at Malfoy Manor a couple of hours before the full meeting was due to start. Settling in Lucius's study the pair spoke about a few things, before Hermione brought up the real reason she wanted to speak with him.

"I've always suspected you had a more long term plan in the pipeline." Lucius commented, when Hermione mentioned the future.

"I do, but we need to start implementing it this year." Hermione replied. "Obviously I'm tied to Hogwarts for the next year, but after that things are going to change."

"I'm sure Dumbledore's death will make things easier." Lucius remarked. "Without him the Order will crumble and be no opposition to us."

"I don't know about them crumbling, but they won't be as strong." Hermione replied. "And they'll be worse, once I've finished with them."

"What exactly do you have in mind?" Lucius smirked.

"We're going to discredit them in the eyes of the wizarding world. We are going to make them look like a laughing stock. By the time we've finished with them no-one will believe a word they say."

"Why do we need to discredit them?" Lucius frowned. "Why not just kill the lot of them."

"Force isn't the only way to gain power." Hermione chuckled. "My father spent years fighting Dumbledore and the Order and all it gained him was a bad reputation and caused everyone to hate him. Even if he'd defeated Dumbledore years ago, there would always be someone somewhere ready to fight against him. I don't want that, I want the Order to be the only opposition I face."

"You sound like you're going to make your presence public knowledge." Lucius said, studying Hermione.

"I am, but not yet." Hermione replied. "First of all we need to discredit the Order. Then when I make my presence known, no-one will believe what they say about me."

"You're going to deny who your father is?" Lucius questioned.

"No, I'm going to admit exactly who I am." Hermione answered. "I'm also going to say that he went about getting his point across in the wrong way. All my father wanted was to rid the wizarding world of muggleborns and I fully support that, but I'm not going to use violence to achieve my goals."

"No offence, but you've just spent the last year achieving your goals with violence." Lucius snorted. "You've just had Dumbledore killed, not to mention the minor skirmishes that have been happening all year."

"I don't know what you mean Lucius, I had nothing to do with Dumbledore's death. It's a complete mystery how he died." Hermione replied innocently. "As for the skirmishes, most of them went unnoticed by the general public and those that were more major happened before I took control of my father Death Eaters."

Lucius looked at Hermione in surprise, before bursting out laughing. Her plan was genius and with her acting skills it could really work. If he hadn't known the truth, he would have genuinely believed her denial of being involved with Dumbledore's death.

"Do you really think you can pull this off?" He asked, once he'd stopped laughing.

"With some help from you." Hermione smiled.

"You know I'll help however I can." Lucius replied. "What do you want me to do?"

"Most of this is long term and needs to be implemented throughout the year." Hermione began. "I want plenty of stories in the paper about the Order, starting with the fact Dumbledore was responsible for the Potter's deaths. We can get in touch with Rita Skeeter and give her the story, you know how she likes to create scandals."

"We'll need to work on the story to make sure Severus isn't revealed to be the source." Lucius mused. "If he's exposed, we'll lose a valuable informant within the Order. I'm assuming for you to go public, you can't be involved in the Order."

"Well when I say I'm going public, I mean I'm revealing my public face. My identity and name will still be a secret." Hermione said. "But we'll worry about that later, let's continue on with our plans for the Order."

"What sort of other stories do you want to appear?" Lucius asked.

"I'll mainly leave that to you, but I do have a few suggestions. For example suspected werewolf attacks near to where Lupin lives and some sort of expose on how Sirius was pardoned without evidence to prove his innocence."

Lucius nodded, knowing both of them stories would be incredibly easy to feed to the press. "I can keep stories like that going all year." He reassured The Dark Lady. "What else do you want me to do?"

"Towards the latter end of the school year I want the Minister for Magic to announce his impending retirement. I also want him to name you as the person most likely to succeed him, and I want as many people as possible backing your appointment."

"You want me to be Minister for Magic?" Lucius gaped at Hermione, slightly taken aback by the huge role she had in mind for him.

"Yes." Hermione nodded, smiling warmly at the wizard. "I want someone I can trust in power. Someone who can pass new laws regarding muggleborns."

"What about my business and the Death Eaters?"

"That's why I don't want this to happen until the end of the year." Hermione replied. "By then I can take charge of the Death Eaters on a more permanent basis and surely Draco can take over your family business. Of course if you don't want the honour, I'm sure we could find someone else for Minister."

"No, I want the honour." Lucius said quickly. "I'm incredibly touched that you think so highly of me. It just came as a bit of a shock, that's all."

"Well you do have nearly a year to get used to it." Hermione chuckled. "I also want you to find me some sort of business to run. If my plan is going to work, I need to be a genuine business woman."

"What sort of business were you thinking?" Lucius asked, wondering if one of his subsidiary companies would be any good for Hermione to take over.

"I don't know." Hermione admitted. "I want something high profile, which will enable me to mingle with the important people in the wizarding world. It also needs to enable me to travel around the globe. I don't just want power in Wizarding Britain, I want power in the entire wizarding world."

"I'm sure I can find you something appropriate." Lucius said, already having a few possible ideas in his head. "Now as great as this plan sounds, what are you going to tell the Death Eaters. No offence, but sitting back and watching you play power games isn't what most of them signed up for."

"It's not all going to be power games." Hermione smirked. "There will be times violence is most definitely the way to get what I want, I'm just distancing myself from that side of things in public. I also still want the Order to be targeted, albeit more carefully. If it's possible I would love it if you can arrange it so they attack us."

"Portraying them as the violent ones, unable to let go of the past." Lucius remarked, grinning at Hermione's ability to manipulate people and situations.

"Exactly." Hermione nodded. "Any violence from our side will be well camouflaged and even if the press get wind of it, there will be no proof we were involved. From now on the Death Eaters are a group of witches and wizards who want to turn the wizarding world into what it should be, a place for wizarding people, not muggles."

"That's very impressive." Lucius remarked. "I think you're going to make quite an impression when you arrive on the scene. If you make statements like that, you'll gain people backing you that would never have supported your father."

"That's the plan." Hermione smirked. "And to help me with that, I want you to gather me some statistics on muggleborns. I want to know about their school records, what sort of jobs they get once they finish school and how they contribute to society in general."

"We have a few men that are perfectly placed to do that job."

"Good, tell them to take their time. I've got all year so they don't need to rush."

"What are you going to do with this information when you have it?" Lucius asked.

"If the stats don't back up what I'm saying, I'm going to twist them to make sure they do." Hermione smirked wickedly. "I'm going to publically state that muggleborns are costing the wizarding population a boat load of money to educate and they give very little back in return."

Yet again Lucius was impressed with Hermione's plan, she seemed to have everything covered. If she played her cards right he could very well imagine her being the darling of the press and a bit hit with the wizarding public.

"What are you going to do after leaving school? What's going to happen to Hermione Granger?"

"She's going to disappear off the face of the planet." Hermione grinned. "I'll make plans nearer the time with my mother, but the Granger's are going to move abroad somewhere. I'm just going to leave school as normal and never contact anyone again. If they go looking for me, they'll find the Granger's gone and no sign of where they've gone."

Lucius nodded in approval, before looking up and catching a glimpse of the time. After telling Hermione it was nearly time for the meeting, he pulled on his robes and headed off to the meeting. Once she was alone Hermione changed her appearance into the one she was going to be using in public. With her plan set in motion she figured she may as well let her Death Eaters get used to her public face, although she did think that even after she'd revealed her true identity to them that she would still favour the back hair and blue eyes in meetings as she was very much coming to associate the look with The Dark Lady.

Leaving Lucius's study, Hermione made her way to the dining room. Everyone was already seated when she arrived and took her position at the head of the table.

"Welcome." Hermione smiled happily at the assembled group. "I want to thank you all for the wonderful support I've received over my first year in charge. I feel we've had a successful year, especially in recent weeks when we've disposed of Dumbledore."

Cheering filled the room as the group celebrated the downfall of the opposition leader. Hermione let the celebrations carry on for a few minutes, before raising her hands and calling for silence.

"As I mentioned at Christmas, the party's to celebrate what we're achieving will be held twice a year and I can announce the next full party will be held at the beginning of August. Shortly before that will be the smaller celebration for those who've impressed me in particular, although I have to say the guest list is almost as long as the one for the party for everyone."

A few chuckles rang about the room and Hermione could see how proud the Death Eaters were to be impressing her. She knew from her mother that they considered her ruthless and potentially darker than her father, but she also knew from her mother that they genuinely liked her and wanted to please her.

"As I'm sure you've noticed, I'm not wearing my usual cloak." Hermione continued. "From now on this will be my appearance, even though I'm sure you're all aware it's not how I really look. I promise you will all see the real me soon enough, but this is the face of The Dark Lady, both in private with you lot and in public."

The public part had a few people frowning in confusion and Hermione took a deep breath before explain their new tactics. As she spoke Hermione was pleased to see no real signs of resentment towards her plan. A few people looked visibly relieved when she announced that she wasn't opposed to using force in the right circumstances. Hermione suspected that as long as her followers got a bit of action now and again they were prepared to lead a more sedate existence.

By the end of the meeting everyone was happily aboard Hermione's plan and she dismissed the group with the promise to have their invitations to the summer parties sent within the week. Once everyone had filed out of the room, only Lucius and Draco remained behind.

"Unless you need me, I'll just be leaving." Lucius said, wanting to give the two teenagers some privacy.

"Thank you for all your help, Lucius." Hermione smiled at the older wizard.

"It's a pleasure My Lady." Lucius grinned, before exiting the room.

"So, what do you think of my plan?" Hermione asked Draco as she reversed her glamour charms.

"I think it's very devious, and very you." Draco replied. "I have to admit, I never expected you to want to go public with being The Dark Lord's daughter."

"Do you not think it will work?" Hermione asked. She valued Draco's opinion and if he thought her plan was flawed she wanted to know where so she could fix the problem.

"I think it will work brilliantly." Draco admitted. "But are you sure you'll be able to publicly say your father went about things in the wrong way?"

"It's not as if that's what I believe." Hermione snorted. "I think he went about things the right way for him. His problem was Dumbledore and the fact the old fool had most of the wizarding world eating out of the palm of his hand. With Dumbledore against him my father was never going to be anything else other than hated."

"But with Dumbledore gone, you can charm the world." Draco grinned, pulling Hermione into his arms. "Just like you charmed me."

Hermione smiled at Draco as he closed the gap between them and captured her in a heated kiss. Hermione wrapped her arms firmly around Draco and pressed herself closer to him.

"Why don't we retire to your room, I can tell you more about the plan then." She suggested.

"Or you can tell me about the plan tomorrow and tonight we can catch up." Draco countered with a grin. "I haven't seen you in a week, and I've misssed you."

"You mean you miss sex." Hermione laughed.

"I guess it's a bit of both." Draco shrugged. "I miss you, but I also miss the sex."

"Well let's get going so you can get reacquainted with both." Hermione grinned, dragging Draco out of the dining room and off towards his wing of the large Manor.


	19. New Recruits

**A/N – I'm so pleased people liked Hermione's future plans. I was a bit worried that people might read about her plans and decide the third part would be boring. I can assure you though, even though her plans are more manipulative she isn't opposed to using violence to get what she wants. Part three will still have some action, as well as some cunning from The Dark Lady.**

**Someone also asked about the Death Eaters and the Order finding out Hermione's identity. I don't want to really give anything away, but I promise those questions will be answered as the story progresses. **

**As always, thanks for the support and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

In the corridor just outside Lucius's study, Draco's four friends anxiously awaited a meeting with the head of the Death Eaters. Draco had contacted them a few days earlier and informed them that provisionally there was no problem with them joining the Death Eaters, they just had to have a one on one meeting before gaining permission to actually join. Of course the four boys all thought they were heading into a meeting with Lucius.

"Who wants to go first?" Draco called, exiting his father's study.

The four boys shared a few words before Theo stood up and offered to go first. Draco opened the door to his father's study and let Theo past him, before shutting the door firmly behind him.

Inside Lucius's study, Theo's eyes widened as he spotted the beautiful witch sitting behind Lucius's desk. Draco's father was sitting off to the side of her, but Theo was focused on the woman. She had long, curly black hair and sparkling blue eyes that seemed to sap his attention.

"Theo, take a seat." The witch said, gesturing to the chair in front of her desk. "Do you know who I am?" She asked as Theo sat down.

"You're The Dark Lord's daughter." Theo whispered, remembering the conversation he'd overheard his parents having before fifth year. He was however slightly miffed that Draco had lied to him about her, his friend had to have known of her existence back then.

"Ah yes, I do believe your father was a bit loose tongued upon my arrival at my father's side." Hermione replied. "Anyway, that doesn't matter now. What's important is you and whether you truly want to join me. Do you still wish to join the Death Eaters with a woman in charge?"

"Yes." Theo nodded. "I still want to join."

"Why?" Hermione asked.

Theo frowned at the question, before realising he had better answer. "I want to help the real wizards take back our world. Mudbloods should remain where they belong, in the muggle world."

"Do you have a problem with muggles?"

"Not in general, I have a problem with the ones who enter our world and pollute it with their muggle genes." Theo answered honestly, before wondering if maybe he should have said he hated muggles.

Hermione smiled, pleased with Theo's honesty. Hating muggles wasn't a requirement to be a Death Eater, after all she herself had no problems with them. Muggleborns however were a different matter and Hermione wanted them removed from the wizarding world.

"I'll let you know my decision after I've spoken to your friends." Hermione said. "You may leave now."

"Thank you for seeing me, My Lady." Theo dipped his head in Hermione's direction, before turning and leaving the study.

Before he got a chance to speak, Draco was ushering him across the hallway and into another room.

"Why do I have to wait here?" Theo asked, hovering in the doorway. "I can just wait with the others."

"Orders." Draco shrugged. "You're not supposed to be talking to the others if they haven't had their meeting yet."

Theo frowned, but did as Draco told him and entered the small living room that was rarely used. With Theo safely ensconced across the hallway, Draco returned to his friends and ushered Blaise into his father's study.

Unlike Theo who'd heard about Voldemort having a daughter, Blaise was totally stunned to find a pretty witch sitting behind Lucius's desk. If it wasn't for the fact Lucius was sitting in the room he would have thought he was in the wrong place.

"Sit down Blaise." Hermione said kindly, knowing the Slytherin had no idea who she was. "Allow me to introduce myself, I'm The Dark Lady, daughter of Lord Voldemort."

Blaise gaped at Hermione for several seconds, before a quiet cough from Lucius snapped him back to reality. Holding out his hand for The Dark Lady to shake, he gave her one of his charming smiles.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, My Lady." He said, taking advantage of her hand in his and bringing it up to his lips for a cheeky kiss.

Hermione made a non-committal sound as she removed her hand from Blaise's grasp. Beside her she could hear Lucius quietly chuckling to himself, no doubt amused by the fact one of Draco's best friends was flirting with her.

"Right Blaise, why do you want to join the Death Eaters?" Hermione asked, getting straight down to business. "If of course you still want to join with me in charge."

"You can take charge of me any day." Blaise remarked flirtatiously, causing Lucius to snort with laughter.

Hermione shot Lucius an unimpressed glare, before turning the same look on Blaise, who quickly dropped the smouldering looks he was throwing her way.

"Sorry." He apologised quickly. "Yes, I still want to join you. As for why, I feel it's my duty as a pureblood. We need to make sure people realise we live in a magical world, not the muggle one. Every day the wizarding world is more affected by the muggles who occupy it and if we're not careful purebloods will be a dying breed."

Hermione nodded, liking Blaise's answer. "I think that's all, I'll let you know my decision once I've seen your other two friends. You may leave now."

"Thank you My Lady." Blaise bowed deeply to The Dark Lady as he stood up and exited the room.

Draco was waiting for him outside the door and like with Theo he ushered him across the hallway and into the second room. Unlike Theo, Blaise didn't question being placed in another room, he just rushed inside and started comparing notes with Theo.

"Vince, do you want to go next?" Draco asked, once again opening the door to his father's study and letting another of his friends enter.

Like Blaise, Crabbe was shocked to see a witch sitting behind Lucius's desk. However unlike Blaise he didn't stare, instead he nodded politely and introduced himself. He then turned to Lucius and greeted the older wizard.

"Sit down, Vincent." Hermione said. She was impressed that so far Crabbe was the only person to acknowledge Lucius's presence in the room. "I'm the Dark Lady. Voldemort's my father and I run the Death Eaters now."

"Cool." Crabbe grinned.

Hermione had to stop herself from grinning at Crabbe's enthusiasm. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but are you sure this is what you want? I don't want anyone to feel pushed into joining me."

"I'm not being pushed, this is what I want." Crabbe answered. "Ever since I was little and could understand about my father's mark, I wanted to be just like him. I want to fight to keep the world pure."

"Thank you Vincent." Hermione smiled. "You can leave now, I'll give you my decision after I've spoken to Gregory."

"Thanks." Crabbe said as he stood up. "Goodbye Miss Riddle, Mr Malfoy."

After Crabbe had left the room, Hermione turned to Lucius in surprise. Crabbe was nothing like what she'd expected from attending school with him for six years. Lucius merely smiled at Hermione as the door opened and Goyle entered the room.

"Hello Mr Malfoy." Goyle greeted in a friendly manner. "Hello." He smiled, turning to Hermione.

"Hello Gregory." Hermione said, asking him to sit. "I'm The Dark Lady, I run things these days after my father's demise."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Goyle said. "I wish I'd met your father, he was a great wizard."

"Thank you." Hermione replied. Like Crabbe before him Goyle was nothing like she'd imagined. "Now Gregory, why you do want to join the Death Eaters?"

"You can call me Greg." Goyle offered, before answering the question. "I want to join you because it's what I've wanted to do since I was a young boy. My father used to tell me stories about how the world would be a better place once your father was in power. I want to see that better world."

"Thank you Greg. You can go." Hermione said. "Tell the others I'll be over with my decision in a few minutes."

"Of course." Goyle nodded as he stood up and left the room.

"Wow." Hermione breathed, sitting back in her chair. "I didn't expect that. Crabbe and Goyle are very different from what I thought."

"They are, aren't they?" Lucius chuckled. "I admit when Draco's around he can influence them easily and get them to do whatever he wants, but underneath they're good lads."

"To be honest I was worried they were being herded into joining and wouldn't be much use to me." Hermione admitted. "But I actually think they both have potential."

"I definitely think they have potential." Lucius agreed. "You won't find two more loyal boys than Vince and Greg, just look at how they are with Draco. They would do anything for him. I also think they would blossom if you maybe removed them slightly from the influence of Draco, Blaise and Theo."

"I was thinking that." Hermione said. "I think once they leave school we need to give them a chance to shine away from the others."

"I take it that means, they're all joining."

"Yes, I think all four will be handy to have around." Hermione replied as she stood up.

Leaving Lucius in his study, Hermione crossed the hallway and entered the room in which Draco was waiting with his friends. The five boys were talking when she entered the room but silence soon reined when they realised she was there.

"I'm happy for you all to take the mark." Hermione announced. "I'll arrange your initiation ceremony for some time next week, that way you'll be just in time to attend the summer party for the Death Eaters."

"Brilliant." Theo beamed. "Thank you My Lady."

The other all thanked her as well, but Hermione spotted a frown on Crabbe's face. "Is everything okay, Vincent?"

"Yeah." Crabbe replied unconvincingly. "I was just wondering if it hurt to get the mark."

"It was bloody torture." Draco responded, before Hermione had a chance to reply.

"It was torture?" Hermione tutted at Draco. "I'll have you know, I went easy on you when I gave you your mark. If you really want me to make it hurt, I can do."

"That's okay, I was just joking." Draco said quickly.

Hermione chuckled before walking over to Draco. "You should be careful what you joke about, Draco. You never know when it might come true."

"I'll have to remember that." Draco smirked. "I'm sure I can think of one or two risqué jokes."

"I'm sure you can." Hermione murmured. "But before you do, I'm off. I have to get ready for tonight. See you next week boys." She called as she turned and exited the room.

Draco watched Hermione leave and when he turned round he found his friends all staring at him. "What?"

"I don't believe it." Theo remarked in a stunned voice. "You're shagging The Dark Lady."

"I wouldn't word it quite like that." Draco said. "Especially not where she can hear."

"How long has this being going on?" Blaise questioned. "Is this why last year you didn't do any more than flirt with the girls at school?"

Draco nodded, although he refused to reveal how long he'd been with The Dark Lady. In fact he refused to discuss things too much, in case he accidentally gave something away.

"What's her name?" Theo asked, giving up trying to get any details from Draco about his actual sex life.

"The Dark Lady." Draco replied in all seriousness.

"You call her that in bed?" Crabbe frowned.

"Yep." Draco nodded with a smirk.

"What about her appearance?" Blaise asked. "That wasn't what she really looked like, she was using glamour's or something."

"That's what The Dark Lady looks like." Draco answered.

"Are you seriously telling us, you're sleeping with a witch and not only do you not know her name, but you don't even know what she looks like?" Theo looked at Draco in disbelief. There was no way Draco knew so little about the witch he was bedding.

"I really can't say anymore." Draco answered. "I will give you all a word of warning though, she's the scariest person I've ever seen when she's angry. Keep on her good side and do as she says and you'll be great, but anger her and it could be the last thing you ever do."

The four friends looked at each other in trepidation. They could tell Draco was being deadly serious and suddenly entering into the Death Eaters was looking like a much more dangerous thing to be doing.


	20. Rita Skeeter's Scoop

Like always the summer seemed to fly past for Hermione and before she knew it she was off to spend the last week of the holidays with Harry and Ron. Unlike the past couple of years they were based at the Burrow, rather than Grimmauld Place. Even Harry was staying at the Burrow. When Hermione inquired about the change, Harry said that Sirius was away with Lupin on Order business.

Hermione soon discovered that the Order was still going strong, although there was now no definitive leader. She also discovered that without Dumbledore the Order weren't quite sure what to do. Her Death Eaters had been quiet all summer and the group seemed to be at a loss as to how to respond. Part of the group thought they should sit back and wait for something to happen, but others thought they should be trying to find out who exactly killed Dumbledore.

Needless to say Harry was still focused on Dumbledore's demise and determined for someone to be held accountable. One of the first things Harry had told Hermione was that the Auror's had gone through the school repeatedly over the holidays and still couldn't find out how the killer entered the castle. Hermione was very happy with the news and she was even happier when Harry said that the Auror's had given up the case and wouldn't be back searching the school.

After heading to Diagon Alley for their school things early in Hermione's visit, the teenagers spent the rest of their holidays lounging around the Burrow. Much to Hermione's annoyance, Lavender had visited the Burrow a couple of times. With Ginny and Harry still very much a couple and all over each other, the presence of Lavender just made Hermione feel even more out of place. She was just pleased that this would be the last summer she would have to spend away from home.

Every morning Hermione was at the Burrow, she waited for the newspaper with baited breath. The last time she'd spoken with Lucius, the day before she arrived at the Burrow, he'd spoken with Rita Skeeter and given her the story about Dumbledore. All summer Lucius had been fiddling with Snape's memories so he could show Rita enough so she believed the story, but not enough so she could know who Dumbledore had confessed to. When Lucius had given Rita the story he'd promised her plenty more as long as he got approval on the stories before they were printed. Rita had readily agreed to the deal, and now Hermione was just waiting for the day the story would be appearing in the papers.

Two days before they were due to return to school, Hermione's wait was finally over. Hermione was sitting eating her breakfast with Molly when the paper owl arrived. Arthur was already at work, Harry and Ginny had gone for an early morning walk and Ron was still asleep, leaving Hermione and Molly alone. Molly untied the paper from the owl and put her money in the pouch on the owl's leg, before settling back down and unfolding the paper. Her loud gasp was Hermione's first clue that something had happened.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, watching as a horrified Molly read the front page.

"This is just awful." Molly shook her head in disbelief as she continued to look at the paper in front of her. "Such terrible lies."

When Molly placed the paper down on the table in disgust, Hermione pulled it in front of her. Most of the page was taken up with a large picture of Dumbledore along with the blazing red headline; Albus Dumbledore – The shocking truth about the wizard that fooled the world. The brief bit of writing on the front page revealed Dumbledore's part in the Potter's death and promised more on the story inside the paper. Turning to the appropriate pages, Hermione was delighted to see a double page spread.

Eagerly she lapped up the story, wanting to see what sort of a job Rita had made of it. As much as Hermione didn't like the journalist, she had to admit Rita hadn't held back and made Dumbledore sound like a power mad freak. Rita had gone into great detail about the night the Potter's had died and the confession he'd later made to an anonymous source. Hermione was also pleased to read that Rita was implying that maybe her father had been misjudged and Dumbledore was in fact the power hungry wizard. In fact at the end of the article she actually claimed that Dumbledore had enacted the curse because he didn't like the fact Voldemort was powerful and was afraid he would lose his place as the most powerful wizard in Britain.

"Wow." Hermione muttered as she finished the story. "I'm not sure what to say."

"Is it as bad as the front page made it sound?" Molly asked, not having read the whole story. Just the brief bit on the front page had been more than enough for her.

"Worse." Hermione replied honestly. "Dumbledore does not come out of this looking good. In fact he looks terrible."

"And the poor man isn't even here to defend himself." Molly sighed. "It's just scandalous, the lies that Rita Skeeter comes up with."

Hermione had to bite her tongue to stop the retort that was on her mind. She could still clearly remember Molly believing every poisonous word Rita had written about her during the Triwizard Tournament. She could also remember the horrible way in which Molly had treated her when she thought the articles about her stringing Harry along were true.

"What if they're not lies?" Hermione asked quietly. "According to this article, Dumbledore confessed to what he'd done. Rita's even seen the memories of him confessing and admitting he didn't regret it."

"They're lies." Molly insisted. "I knew Albus, he would never have done this. This is all the dark and that bloody daughter of Voldemort's. That bitch is behind this. I swear if I ever get my hands on Narcissa Malfoy, I'll kill her."

Hermione still found it amusing that people still thought Narcissa was The Dark Lady, even though they still had no proof of it. She also found it amusing that Molly thought she was a match for Narcissa. While Molly was an accomplished witch, Narcissa was the wife of her top Death Eater and quite dark herself, so she wouldn't be opposed to using dark magic in a fight.

"Lies or not, some people will still believe it." Hermione pointed out. "And what about Harry?"

"What about him?" Molly asked. "He won't believe this nonsense."

"Dumbledore is being accused of sacrificing his parents, that's going to affect him somehow." Hermione said.

"Harry's a sensible boy, he'll see this for what it is. The Dark Lady trying to make waves and create discord in the Order." Molly replied.

While Hermione didn't agree with Molly's reasoning as to why Harry wouldn't believe the story, she did agree he wouldn't believe it. In Harry's eyes Dumbledore could do no wrong and this article wouldn't change anything there. Then again the article wasn't aimed at Harry, it was aimed at the wider wizarding public and Hermione knew most people weren't as blinkered as Harry and would at least consider the possibility the article was true. Even people who weren't convinced of Dumbledore's guilt might be when the story refused to die and more stories about the Order started to appear.

Less than five minutes later they discovered just how Harry would react when he and Ginny returned from their walk. By this time the paper was shut and Molly had placed it face down on the table. She had briefly considered throwing it away and hiding it from Harry, but Hermione had pointed out they were returning to school in a few days' time and he would only find out then and it would be a lot worse for him to find out what was being said from someone gossiping.

Before letting Harry look at the paper, Molly briefly explained what was being reported. By the time he flung the paper over and began reading it Harry was already mad and by the time he finished he tore the paper in half with a growl.

"That foul, bloody beetle." He seethed, throwing the shredded paper onto the table. "She can't say those things. We need to make sure people know they're not true."

"We just have to ignore them Harry." Molly said soothingly. "I know it's hard, but we know it's all lies and I'm sure most people will realise that as well. In a few weeks Rita Skeeter will get bored and all this will be forgotten."

"Not by me." Harry stormed, jumping up and causing the chair he was sitting in to crash to the kitchen floor. "She's badmouthing the best man I've ever known, and I won't stand for it."

"What are you going to do?" Ginny asked her boyfriend.

"I don't know yet." Harry replied. "But I will not let people think Dumbledore was responsible for my parent's deaths. We all know Voldemort killed them and I won't rest until everyone accepts the truth."

Hermione watched Harry turn around and stomp off upstairs, wondering what he was planning to do. Nothing he could say would stop the articles from appearing, although if he somehow spoke to the press in the state he was in, he could help her discredit the Order even further. Leaving the kitchen, Hermione began to wonder if she could push Harry into doing an interview with the press without anyone suspecting she was doing it to further her own cause.

Hermione still wasn't sure how she was going to get Harry to talk to the press by the time they headed back to school, but he was still fuming and vowing to do something. The stories about Dumbledore had kept on coming and more reporters other than Rita Skeeter were tearing into him. Hermione didn't know if all the stories were coming from Lucius or if the reporters were finding their own, but either way she was thrilled by the results.

As they made their way onto the Hogwarts Express, Hermione was very aware of the gossip circulating up and down the train. Dumbledore's name was being thrown about in almost every conversation and Hermione even heard a few mentions of Harry. Harry had also clearly heard he was being talked about as he glared at almost everyone they saw.

"I can't believe people are believing this bullshit." Harry stormed, once the group were safely ensconced in their compartment.

"Come on Harry, you've been preparing for this." Ginny said, pulling her boyfriend down onto the seat beside her. "We talked about this and you know some people would believe the articles."

"Yeah Slytherins." Harry snorted. "But you saw it out there, the whole trains buzzing. Even the Gryffindors are believing it."

"You can't really blame them mate." Ron said warily. "They didn't know Dumbledore the way you did. For the last couple of days the stories have been all over the press, of course people are going to wonder if they're true."

"Well they shouldn't." Harry yelled. "Dumbledore was our headmaster for years, they should know better. He was a good man who protected us all."

Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes and argue with Harry. In her opinion Dumbledore hadn't exactly done a good job of protecting the students over the years. He'd hidden the Philosopher's stone in the castle, drawing her father to them and he'd hired both a werewolf and a Death Eater using polyjuice potion as Professors. Not to mention the fact he'd let Hagrid teach, resulting in them suffering dangerous lessons quite often, and he even let him take students in detention into the Forbidden Forest, which again was dangerous.

"I really should be going. I've got to go up to the prefect's carriage and get my duties as Head Girl." Hermione said after a few more minutes of Harry's complaining. She'd received the news a few days before going to the Burrow and she was thrilled when Draco had gotten the news he was to be Head Boy.

Leaving her friends in their carriage, Hermione made her way to the prefect's compartment at the end of the train. Draco was already there, as was McGonagall, and when she entered he threw her a disgusted look. Hermione was pleased to see his hateful act firmly in place, but McGonagall looked less impressed by the look.

"Now you're here Miss Granger, we can get started." McGonagall said, making Hermione sit down next to Draco, who not so subtly slid as far away from her as he could get. "I know the pair of you don't like each other, and I don't care about that. You will learn to work together or I'll have no hesitation of stripping you of your positions. Is that clear?"

"Yes Professor." Hermione said immediately.

"Mr Malfoy?" McGonagall raised an eyebrow at Draco, who was sitting with a sulky expression on his face.

"Yes, it's clear." Draco finally said.

McGonagall nodded and after giving Draco a long hard stare, she started listing their duties. For the next ten minutes the pair listened to McGonagall and when she departed the prefects filed into the room. After briefing the prefects, Hermione and Draco each headed back to their respective friends. The whole time they never once acknowledged that they were romantically involved or even liked each other, something they were adept at after their sixth year and planned to continue throughout their last year at school.


	21. Settling in for a New Year at Hogwarts

At the welcoming feast for the new term Draco and the other Slytherins watched in disgust as McGonagall introduced herself as the new Headmistress. The only consolation was the fact she referred to herself as 'acting' head, although she would also still be teaching Transfiguration which wasn't the best news.

"Ugh, I can't believe McGonagall's in charge." Pansy sneered. "She's going to be just as bad as Dumbledore."

"I bet she doesn't get the job permanently though." Theo snorted.

"Yeah, it sounds to me like they're just using her until they line up someone more permanent." Blaise added.

"Or it could be a trial run." Draco pointed out. "These next few months could be her interview for the job."

"Maybe we should ensure she doesn't get the job." Blaise smirked. "I'm sure we could ensure her time in charge is fraught with problems."

"What's the point in that?" Daphne Greengrass queried. "This is our last year, why should it bother us who's in charge?"

"It's the principal of the thing." Theo explained. "It's time someone other than a bloody Gryffindor was in charge."

"Exactly." Blaise nodded, slapping Theo on the back in a supportive manner. "Plus, as you said this is our last year and I reckon we should go out with a bang."

"I'm sure we can manage that Blaise." Draco chuckled.

"Should you really be encouraging them, Draco?" Daphne questioned. "You are the Head Boy and you should be setting an example."

"I am setting an example." Draco grinned wickedly.

"I meant you should be setting a good example." Daphne giggled, unable to stay mad at the handsome blond boy.

"Where's the fun in being good?" Draco replied, winking at Daphne. While he may be with Hermione and wouldn't dream of cheating on her, he was still unable to resist flirting with attractive witches.

Blaise and Theo exchanged amused looks at their friend's antics while Crabbe and Goyle looked unimpressed with his flirting. Crabbe and Goyle had been rather taken with The Dark Lady when they met her over the summer and didn't like that Draco was flirting with Daphne so soon after leaving her. At the party they had attended over the holidays, Draco had spent almost the entire time with The Dark Lady and the couple looked very happy together. Blaise and Theo however knew Draco didn't mean anything with his flirting, he just couldn't help himself.

As the feast progressed, the Slytherins continued laughing and joking as they enjoyed being back in school one final time. They didn't bother discussing McGonagall again or their plans to cause trouble, instead they focused on the newspaper articles that were all the talk in the rest of the Great Hall.

"Do you think it was true?" Pansy asked. "Did Dumbledore sacrifice the Potter's just to get rid of The Dark Lord's powers?"

"Of course it is." Draco snorted. He actually had no idea if the story was true as he hadn't spoken to Hermione since the story emerged and Lucius just kept telling him to ask Hermione. "We all know that Dumbledore liked being considered the most powerful wizard in Britain, he just didn't like it that The Dark Lord was more powerful."

"But do you really think he would have sacrificed the Potter's to achieve that?" Daphne asked, looking sceptical. "He was supposed to be their friend and he knew they had a baby."

"A baby who grew up to worship the ground Dumbledore walked on." Theo argued. "I mean look at how much influence Dumbledore had over Potter. By getting rid of his parents he was able to influence Potter easily."

"Yeah, I mean even now Potter refuses to acknowledge what Dumbledore did." Blaise said. As they were entering The Great Hall earlier they had heard Potter grumbling to his friends about the lies people were spreading about the former headmaster.

"Do you really think Dumbledore scarified Potter's parents to influence him?" Pansy questioned, shooting a curious glance over to the Gryffindor table where the boy in question was sitting scowling at everyone.

"Maybe." Draco shrugged. "Who knows what he would have been like if his parents had raised him. Maybe he wouldn't have been so dumbstruck by Dumbledore."

"Plus, he might have been more powerful." Theo added. "I mean he was prophesied to defeat The Dark Lord, surely that means he has power. Dumbledore was probably scared of what sort of power he could have and decided to sort him at the same time as The Dark Lord."

"It was him who left Potter with his muggle family." Draco said. "Who knows what Potter could have been if he'd been raised in the wizarding world. Instead he lost his early years living with muggles, therefore he was never going to be as powerful."

"What makes you think that?" Goyle asked.

"Yeah, how do you know living with muggles blunted his power?" Crabbe questioned.

"Because he didn't know he had magic for the first years of his life and true power is harnessed at a young age." Draco said.

"But The Dark Lord didn't know he had magic before he started school." Daphne pointed out. "He spent his early years living with muggles."

"Yes, but he wasn't as thick as Potter and he knew he was special." Draco countered. "He may not have known about his magic, but he'd figured out how to use his power. Therefore by the time he attended Hogwarts he was already pretty powerful, he just had to learn how to wield that power. I bet the most Potter did before coming to Hogwarts was a bit of accidental magic that he didn't even realise came from him."

The conversation about Dumbledore lasted for the rest of the feast and only came to a halt when McGonagall announced it was time to head off to bed. Draco and his gang of Slytherins were one of the first lot out of The Great Hall as they headed down to the dungeons.

"Don't you have duties as Head Boy?" Pansy asked. "Isn't it your job to show the first years where to find the dungeons?"

"Do I look like a tour guide?" Draco asked with a snort. "I gave that job to the two fifth year prefects, let them deal with the little squirts."

"Do you not have any other duties?" Pansy continued to press.

"You know Pans, anyone would think you were trying to get rid of me." Draco commented to his ex-girlfriend, who just rolled her eyes at him. "And for the record, I have no duties until tomorrow night when I have to help draw up the patrol schedules."

"Why do you have to help do that?" Blaise asked as the group reached the entrance of the common room. "Can't the Head Girl do it?"

"He can't let her do everything, as tempting as it may be." Theo replied. "We all know what a bossy shrew Granger is, if Draco let's her take control early on she'll be insufferable."

"Exactly." Draco nodded. "I have to keep Granger on her toes. I'm not giving her any reason to go running to McGonagall and complain that I'm not pulling my weight."

"That's exactly the sort of thing she would do." Pansy sneered at the mention of the Gryffindor witch. "Uptight little know-it-all that she is."

"Calm down, Pans. I can keep Granger under control." Draco smirked, thinking of the control he could exert over Hermione. "She won't be a problem for me."

"Let's hope you're still so confident when you've been dealing with her all year." Pansy laughed. "I bet by the end of the year she's driving you bloody insane."

"I think you're underestimating me, Pans." Draco chuckled. "I can cope with Granger."

"We'll see." Pansy smirked. "Anyway, we're off to bed. Night boys."

After saying goodbye to Pansy and Daphne the five boys headed up their own dorm room. After settling in and getting ready for bed, they each flung themselves on their own beds as they settled down to chat for a while. After a bit more chat about Dumbledore the conversation turned to the four boy's initiation into the Death Eaters over the summer. Since the foursome's initiation and first meeting they had only been together one time after that, at the Death Eater's summer party. Even there they hadn't had much time to talk as Draco had spent most of his evening with Hermione.

"I still can't get over some of the people who are Death Eaters." Theo remarked. "I mean, did you see Lavender Brown's father?"

"Yeah, but I didn't know who he was until after I'd spoken to him and practically called his daughter a slapper." Blaise muttered.

"You what?" Draco laughed. "What happened?"

"Well I was talking to him and he was asking about school. Naturally the talk turned to Potter and his friends, and when I mentioned Weasley I may have mentioned him shagging a tart in our year." Blaise said. "Of course I didn't know who he was until he glared at me and walked away. That's when Lucius came up behind me and pointed out I'd just insulted his daughter."

"Smooth as ever, Blaise." Theo laughed.

"I didn't know, did I?" Blaise retorted with a pout. "I mean, who expects Gryffindors to have Death Eater parents?"

"Not me." Goyle said quietly. "That's why I've never approached Lavender before."

"Are you saying you fancy Brown?" Theo asked in bewilderment.

"Maybe." Goyle shrugged. "Not that it matters, she's with Weasley."

"Don't let that stop you Greg, if you want her go for it." Draco encouraged his friend.

"Do you really think I should?" Goyle asked uncertainly.

"Yeah." Draco nodded. "When it comes to girls you just need to steam in and take what you want."

"Is that how it worked for you and The Dark Lady?" Blaise questioned with a smirk. "Because something tells me that's she's not the sort of witch you steam in with. It's more likely that she set her sights on you and you were powerless to resist."

"The Dark Lady may be a formidable witch, but she's still just a witch." Draco answered cockily. "A bit of the Malfoy charm, and she was putty in my hands."

"Nah, I'm not buying that." Theo remarked, shaking his head. "We've all seen her, she's definitely the one in charge."

"In public maybe, but I assure you blokes that in the bedroom she's completely at my mercy." Draco bragged.

"Lucky sod." Blaise muttered. "I wouldn't mind having her at my mercy, she's bloody stunning. Did you see that dress she was wearing at the party? I kept waiting for her to bend over too far and fall out of it."

"Hey, that's my girlfriend you're talking about." Draco scolded his friend, but he couldn't help but grin at the memory of Hermione in her tight green dress. The dress had clung to her every curve and barely contained her breasts, which like Blaise said had been threatening to pop out all night.

"It's just a bit of friendly banter." Blaise grinned. "A bloke can look, can't he? It's not as if she would even notice, whenever you were around her attention was all focused on you."

"What can I say, I'm irresistible." Draco smirked. "Even the ferocious Dark Lady melts when I'm around."

"Is she really that ferocious?" Goyle asked. "She was really nice to me, I like her."

"So do I." Crabbe agreed. "She doesn't talk to me as though I'm a complete idiot."

"You know I did hear a couple of the Death Eaters talking, about Bellatrix." Theo remarked.

"What did you hear?" Draco asked.

"That she betrayed The Dark Lady to the Order and she was dealt with pretty nastily." Theo answered. "Is that true? Because your aunt is mysteriously missing these days."

"There's no mystery about where she is, she's dead." Draco replied. "She betrayed The Dark Lady and was punished. Most of the Death Eaters don't talk about it, because it was bloody scary."

"You were there?" Blaise questioned, leaning forward in excitement. "What happened?"

"Before I tell you, I want you to remember that Bella betrayed her and had been warned about her behaviour before. I also want to remind you that if you're loyal, she's great and rewards people for what they do."

Satisfied his friends would remember the good points about Hermione, Draco told them a quick version of what had happened with his aunt. He didn't go into the gory details, but he told them enough so that they knew just how ruthless she was when crossed.

"Wow." Theo whistled softly at the end of Draco's story. "It's a good job we're planning on being loyal to her."

"As I said, if you're loyal and do what she asked you have no problems. I mean look at me, I've already secured a place near the top of the table." Draco said.

"Yeah, I was meaning to ask about that." Blaise said. "How did you get up to the top so quick? I mean you're practically sitting beside her and I presume you're not there because you please her in bed."

"I first got a seat in the middle of the table when my aunt had upset her and was moved down the table." Draco explained. "But since then I've moved up be doing a job for her last year."

"What job?" Theo questioned.

"I helped her find a way to get some of her Death Eaters into school the night Dumbledore was killed." Draco boasted. He'd already spoken to Hermione about what he could tell his friends and she was fine with him revealing some of what he'd done, he just had to be careful with revealing too many details.

"You were involved in Dumbledore's death, impressive." Blaise remarked.

"It is, isn't it?" Draco smirked.

"You're so modest." Theo laughed. "Honestly, it's a wonder you can fit your head into the room, it's so big."

The rest of the boys laughed, all agreeing that Draco was pretty egotistical. Draco also admitted he could be big-headed before the conversation drifted off again, this time returning to McGonagall and her position as Headmistress.


	22. Harry's Plan

**A/N – Thanks for all the great reviews. **

**I'm pleased people are liking Crabbe and Goyle, I'm thoroughly enjoying writing them in The Dark Lady series. I know a lot of people are wanting to see Draco taken down a peg or two, and I promise that will happen when he gets too complacent (Not until part 3 though). A few people also seem to want a dark Harry, but I'm afraid that won't be happening in this story. I do have a story planned where he's dark, but that is a future story and won't be ready for a while yet. **

**I also just want to mention that these next few chapters probably aren't particularly exciting. However what happens in the next few chapters triggers the next big plot line that happens in the story.**

* * *

"I can't believe this." Harry stormed, throwing the newspaper down onto the breakfast table.

From her position beside him Hermione could clearly see the headline; Questions arise over pardon of Sirius Black. The article, which questioned what evidence the Ministry had to pardon Sirius and claimed the decision should be rethought, was accompanied by Sirius' prison picture that made him look every inch the mass murderer he'd been accused of being. It had been six weeks since they returned from school and the stories about Dumbledore just kept on coming. This was the first one to branch out and include another member of the Order, but Hermione knew more was on the way.

"What exactly does it say?" Ron asked from across the table. While Hermione had read the article before handing it to Harry, Ron had been too busy eating breakfast to concern himself with the news.

"Basically it's calling for the Ministry to re-examine Sirius's case and send him back to Azkaban." Harry spat.

"Surely if he was pardoned in the first place there's enough evidence to prove he was innocent." Hermione said, knowing full well there wasn't the evidence to prove Sirius's innocence. His pardon had been granted because Dumbledore was friendly with the Minister who briefly took over after Fudge's sacking.

"But this Minister is in Lucius Malfoy's pocket, meaning if they look into his case he'll be found guilty again and Sirius will have to run." Harry argued.

"Maybe it won't come to that." Ron offered. "After all, it's just a newspaper article. None of this is actually coming from the Ministry."

"Yeah, but what if this put pressure on them." Harry replied with a sigh. "People reading this might start to complain and they might feel they have no choice but to look into his case again."

"You can't worry about something that might not happen." Hermione told Harry. "You need to forget about the papers and concentrate on school."

"Forget, how can I forget?" Harry glared at Hermione. "Every day something more is written about Dumbledore, tainting his memory. I can't just sit back and do nothing."

"There's nothing you can do, mate." Ron said sympathetically.

"Yeah, it's not as if you can hit back and put the record straight." Hermione remarked flippantly.

Almost immediately Hermione spotted Harry's mind whirring. Her remark had been intended to set Harry thinking about approaching the press, but to be honest she'd had no idea if it would even work. She'd wanted the suggestion to be so subtle that at a later stage Harry couldn't turn around and accuse her of giving him bad advice.

"Why do I get the impression you've got an idea?" Ron asked.

"Because I have." Harry grinned. "I'm going to set the record straight."

"How?" Hermione questioned, acting as though she was confused by what was going on.

"I'm going to talk to a reporter and put an end to these stories." Harry announced.

"Excellent idea, Harry." Ron beamed excitedly at his friend.

"It is isn't it?" Harry smiled proudly, before turning to Hermione who was looking less enthusiastic than Ron. "Hermione, what do you think?"

"I think the idea is fraught with problems. First, you don't know any journalists to get in touch with. Second, I don't think the Order will be happy with talking to the press, they've made it clear they just want to ignore it until it blows over. And third, talking to a reporter doesn't guarantee a good story, you never know how they're going to write the story."

Harry sat for a minute digesting Hermione's reply and formulating answers to her concerns. "Okay, I agree the Order won't like it, but it's something I feel I have to do." He began. "And as for knowing a journalist and controlling the story, I think I know how to do both. We talk to Luna and see if we can get the interview done by someone from the Quibbler."

"You want to publish a denial of these stories in the Quibbler?" Ron asked in disgust. "No offence Harry, but that will make you look insane. Everyone knows the Quibbler is a magazine for nutters. I mean, just look at Luna, the girl's not right in the head."

"The Quibbler is just a stepping stone, and I know it's not ideal but at least we can be sure they'll support us." Harry answered. "Hopefully once the story gets out, the rest of the press will pick it up and run with it."

"What about the Order?" Hermione asked. "Are you going to at least tell them what you're doing?"

"No." Harry shook his head. "I know they'll try and stop me and I don't want to fall out with them. I'm seventeen, I'm an adult and this is my decision. I would like it if you two supported me and were there when I was interviewed."

"Of course, we'll be there." Ron volunteered immediately, wondering if he would get a mention as Harry's best friend.

"I'll be there as well." Hermione said when Harry turned to her expectantly. "I just want you to be careful what you say Harry. This could get ugly if you say the wrong thing."

"Don't worry, I know exactly what I'm going to say." Harry smirked.

Hermione suddenly had a sinking feeling about the whole thing. Harry definitely had a hidden agenda and unfortunately she had set the ball rolling and all she could do was wait and see what he came out with. She just hoped whatever it was, she could either work it to her advantage or perform damage limitation quite quickly.

**[][][][][]**

Once Harry had made his decision to talk to a reporter, he wasted no time in getting it sorted. Luna, being the kind and helpful person she was, agreed to help as soon as Harry approached her. Less than a week after Harry came up with the plan, the trio were heading off to meet the reporter in Hogsmeade. Luna had met up with them on the outskirts of the village and accompanied Harry, Ron and Hermione to The Three Broomsticks, which was where the interview was taking place.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to be doing this in such a public place?" Hermione asked as they neared the pub. The Three Broomsticks was the most popular haunt of the Hogwarts students and over a Hogsmeade weekend it was always jam packed with people from school.

"We've booked a private room in the back." Luna told Hermione. "That way you won't be interrupted."

"And that way no-one will know what I'm doing." Harry added. His interview with the press was strictly confidential, he hadn't even told Ginny in case she accidentally let it slip to someone.

A few minutes later the four teenagers arrived at the pub. Slipping through the crowds they made their way to the bar, where Madam Rosmerta directed them to one of the private rooms at the back of the pub. Entering the private room, they found a middle aged witch sitting waiting for them. The witch had long dark blonde hair, which was pulled up in a messy ponytail, deep green eyes and a warm smile. Her clothes were slightly mismatched and a clash of colours and was wearing jewellery shaped like various fruits. All in all Hermione decided that she looked exactly as she'd expected a reporter from the Quibbler to look.

"Everyone this is Lisa." Luna said, making the introductions. "Lisa, this is Harry, Ron and Hermione."

"I thought this was a one on one interview with Harry." Lisa frowned.

"It is." Harry said. "Ron and Hermione are just here for support."

"Yeah, we're going to sit over here." Ron said, talking hold of Hermione's arm and pulling her towards a couple of seats over the other side of the room. "Just pretend like we're not even here."

While Hermione and Ron settled down in their seats, Luna said her goodbyes and left. Harry settled at the table opposite Lisa and the reporter checked that he was okay with her recording the interview. Lisa's recording equipment consisted of an enchanted quill, which copied down the entire conversation.

"That's not a Quick Quotes Quill, is it?" Harry asked warily. He could still remember the couple of times he'd spoken to Rita Skeeter in fourth year and her quill had written all sorts of lies in front of his face.

"Dear me, no." Lisa chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of using one of those. They're incredibly inaccurate and write down any old tosh. This is just a regular quill that will record the conversation word for word. That way I can make sure not to misquote you."

"That's all right then." Harry nodded. "I want this article to be accurate, not like the rubbish that's filling the papers these days."

"Perhaps we can start by you telling me why you wanted to give the interview." Lisa said, her quill starting to write as she spoke. "Luna wasn't really clear on the point of the interview, she just told me it was an exclusive interview with Harry Potter."

"Basically I want to put the record straight and dispute the articles that have been in the paper recently." Harry answered. "The whole lot are lies, and I want people to know that."

"Are you saying you don't believe Dumbledore was responsible for your parent's deaths?"

"Of course he wasn't." Harry replied forcefully. "Voldemort killed my parents. That is the truth, it had nothing to do with Dumbledore. He was a good man and never would have done what the papers are accusing him of."

"You do know that a lot of the reporters are claiming to have seen memories where he confesses, don't you?" Lisa asked.

"And who is he confessing to?" Harry countered. "A mystery source that won't reveal their identity. I don't believe the memories are real, if they were the person making these accusations would have come forward."

"The official line is that this person is scared of retaliation." Lisa remarked. "They're scared that people who supported Dumbledore will attack them for telling the truth."

"More like they're scared that their lies will be revealed." Harry snorted.

"And what about the other stories?" Lisa questioned. "A lot of people are claiming Dumbledore had been interfering in the running of the Ministry for years. It's said that he didn't want to lose the power he had as Headmaster, but he wanted to be Minister so he arranged it that Cornelius Fudge got the job, a man he could easily manipulate."

"That's complete nonsense." Harry snapped. "Fudge used to come to Dumbledore for advice. It wasn't Dumbledore's fault that Fudge wasn't up to the job and needed help. All Dumbledore was doing was being a good wizard and helping out where he could."

"And what about the Minister after Fudge?" Lisa inquired. "He held the job for a matter of weeks and in that time quashed the conviction of a mass murderer. There is no proof to back up the pardon he gave Sirius Black."

"Sirius is innocent." Harry insisted. "Dumbledore knew that and all he did was speak up for him."

"Where's the proof?"

Harry frowned briefly, before reciting everything about Sirius's supposed crimes. He told Lisa about Peter Pettigrew and the part he'd played in his parent's deaths, he also mentioned that he was an unregistered animagus and hadn't actually been dead at all. He also told her about the night in third year when Pettigrew confessed.

"And where is this Pettigrew?" Lisa asked. "It seems to me he's the only person capable of proving Black's innocence."

"He ran." Harry spat, remembering the cowardly way Pettigrew had turned into a rat and fled. "He ran back to Voldemort, I saw him the night he returned."

"But Voldemort's dead." Lisa pointed out. "So where's Pettigrew now?"

"Still with the Death Eaters I would imagine." Harry shrugged.

"But the Death Eaters are no more." Lisa said. "Apart from a couple of unsubstantiated incidents a year ago, there's been no sign of Death Eater activity."

"They've been attacking the Order since Voldemort's death, and more importantly they killed Dumbledore."

"The Aurors found no trace of anyone entering the school. Death Eater involvement has been ruled out."

"I don't know how she did it, but I know Dumbledore was killed by Death Eaters." Harry snarled, bunching his hands into fists on top of the table.

"She?" Lisa immediately picked up on Harry's odd phrasing of his words. "Are you saying a woman killed Dumbledore?"

"I don't know if she did it herself, but yes I believe a woman is responsible for Dumbledore's death." Harry stated confidently.

"Who?" Lisa pressed, leaning forward in anticipation of a juicy story.

"Voldemort's daughter." Harry smirked. "Otherwise known as The Dark Lady."

From her position over the other side of the room, Hermione gaped at Harry. The last thing she'd expected was for Harry to reveal her existence, and she really didn't want him to reveal the Order's theory on who The Dark Lady was. Maybe at a later point it would be handy to have the Order publically accusing Narcissa of being The Dark Lady, but not right now, not before she'd established herself in the wizarding world.

"Voldemort has a daughter?" Lisa gasped. She was both thrilled and amazed by the revelation, this interview could be the making of her with such a big revelation.

"Yes." Harry nodded. "And she's now running the Death Eaters. She was the one who ordered the attack on Diagon Alley a year ago and she was the one who arranged that explosion in the muggle world a few weeks after that. And more importantly she was the one who arranged for Dumbledore to be killed."

"Have you seen her?" Lisa asked.

"No." Harry shook his head. "Our information came from a source within her camp. Not everyone was happy she took over from her father."

"Can I speak with this source?" Lisa questioned. "I really could do with more information about The Dark Lady."

"We haven't seen our source since we were informed of The Dark Lady's existence." Harry admitted. "Unfortunately we're not in a position to go searching for them, but we do believe they were being honest with us."

"Why would one of her followers betray her to the Order?" Lisa asked.

"I told you, not everyone was happy she took over. The Dark Lady is supposedly cold and ruthless and potentially far worse than her father." Harry answered. "The world needs to know about her, we need to be prepared. Everyone thinks we're safe with Voldemort gone, but we're not. With The Dark Lady in charge we're in more danger than ever before."

Hermione couldn't help but smirk at Harry's words, even without really doing anything she had the Order running scared of her. Now all she had to do was ensure that they were the only ones that thought that way, to the rest of the world she was going to be the perfect witch who didn't want any more fighting and violence.


	23. The Dark Lady Hits Back

The day Harry's interview appeared in The Quibbler, Luna ensured extra copies were delivered to Harry so he could hand them around. Once word got around about the interview the extra copies soon dispersed among the student population and Luna had to send for a second batch, which also promptly got snatched up.

The interview was far kinder to Harry than Hermione had hoped for. During the interview she thought Harry had come across slightly overzealous, but the article painted him as a clearheaded young man. Harry meanwhile was thrilled with the article, pleased he was finally being taken seriously and his words of warning being listened to.

Hermione had prepared Lucius for the article and instructed him to get the main press to pick up on it and discredit Harry. The day after the Quibbler interview all the other papers and magazines featured the story and many accused Harry of being unstable after the loss of Dumbledore. Much to Hermione's chagrin those articles didn't last long enough and soon everyone was focused on The Dark Lady.

Initially the articles about The Dark Lady were mainly speculative, but gradually they started to get more personal. After an article openly accusing her of being the darkest witch in Britain's history, Hermione knew she had to act. Unless something was done soon she would have a terrible reputation and would never be able to follow through with her plans for world domination.

While Hermione worked out a way to hit back, she took pleasure in the fact that while Harry may have achieved his goal in getting his side of the story out there, he had angered the Order. Both Molly and Sirius sent him angry letters and McGonagall and Kingsley had also given him a lecture about sticking his nose into things that would have blown over. Harry however was unrepentant and with all the press surrounding The Dark Lady, he was happy with his work.

After almost a week of stories, Hermione made a decision and contacted Lucius to set her plan into motion. While Lucius was setting up what she had asked for Hermione needed a distraction from the papers so was spending extra time with Draco. Almost every night Hermione told her friends she had Head duties before heading off to the Room of Requirement to meet Draco.

The day before she was to set her plan into motion, Hermione was lounging in bed with Draco. Her blond lover was reading the newest edition of The Daily Prophet while Hermione was lost in thought over what she was about to do the following day. Her plan was risky and wasn't guaranteed to work exactly as she wanted but with the reaction to Harry's interview, she really had no choice in the matter.

"So what exactly are you going to do about this?" Draco asked, drawing Hermione back to reality. "If this carries on much longer your original plan will never work."

"I know." Hermione sighed. "But I can't wait until the end of the year to reveal myself to everyone, I have to do it now."

"Is that wise?" Draco asked. "You decided on the end of the year so you'll always be around, but right now you can't go around as The Dark Lady without arousing suspicions here about your frequent absences."

"I don't really have a choice." Hermione snorted, sitting up abruptly. "If we stick to the original plan, people will be suspicious about why I waited so long to speak. With all these allegations Harry is throwing my way, I need to respond and get people on side as quickly as possible."

Draco found himself momentarily distracted when Hermione sat up. As she sat there topless, he couldn't help remembering how shy she had been when they first got together. Now being naked around him didn't bother her in the slightest, but back at the beginning of sixth year it was a big deal for her.

"How are you going to reveal yourself?" Draco asked when he snapped back to the present and moved his gaze higher up to Hermione's face.

"Your father's organised for me to speak to a journalist tomorrow." Hermione answered. "Lucius is confident he can control what he writes and the story will be positive."

"What are you going to say?" Draco questioned. "What I always planned on saying, as well as denying all the allegations Harry threw at me. I just hope it's enough to win people around."

"I'm sure it will be." Draco smiled reassuringly at Hermione. "But what are you going to do if it's not?"

"I go back to my father's way, taking control by force." Hermione replied with a deadly glint in her eyes. She may have decided the wisest move was playing a strategic game, but she wasn't opposed to following in her father's footsteps and unleashing her darkness on the world.

"Is it wrong that it really turns me on when you're all dark and dangerous like that?" Draco asked with a grin.

Hermione laughed as she discarded the paper from the bed and straddled Draco's lap. "Why don't you show me what my darkness has done to you?" She whispered to the blond as she nipped at his neck with her teeth.

"It'll be my pleasure." Draco grinned. "And yours." He added cheekily as pulled Hermione closer and crashed his lips against hers.

**[][][][][]**

Hermione stood staring out at the lovely gardens of Malfoy Manor, nerves coursing through her body. Hermione was in full Dark Lady attire and as always was unrecognisable as the schoolgirl she truly was. It was a Sunday afternoon and she was in the small conservatory at the back of the Manor, waiting for Lucius to arrive with his journalist friend. When she told Lucius to arrange the interview she deliberately told him to find a well-respected journalist. She was fine with using Rita to spread muck about Dumbledore and the Order, but she didn't want her first interview to be conducted with a reporter that had a reputation at embellishing the truth. The last thing Hermione wanted was for her first ever appearance into the wizarding world to be handled wrongly, and giving an interview to Rita would be a mistake.

Hearing the door open, Hermione turned around and found Lucius entering the room with a tall, dark haired man that looked to be around his age. The two wizards were smiling and happily chatting together, which Hermione hoped meant that Lucius would be able to ensure the finished article was a complimentary one.

"Mason, this is Miss Riddle." Lucius said, introducing the pair. "Miss Riddle, this is an old friend of mine Mason Riley. Mason's the star reporter for the Prophet."

"I know." Hermione smiled, impressed with who she was going to be talking to. Mason Riley was a well-respected journalist and all his articles were impeccably written and well thought out. "I've read some of your work Mr Riley, you're very good."

"Thank you." Mason responded as he shook Hermione's hand.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone. Just call if you need anything." Lucius said, nodding at the pair before backing up and leaving the room.

Once Lucius was gone Hermione and the journalist sat down, Hermione on the small sofa and Mason on the chair opposite. Unsure of what was going to happen next, Hermione waited in silence.

"You look nervous." Mason remarked as he set up his quill to record the interview, exactly as the reporter who'd interviewed Harry had done.

"I am." Hermione admitted with a tentative smile. "I've never done this before, and to be honest I never thought I ever would."

"Then why are you?" Mason asked, after announcing the interview had begun.

"To tell people the truth." Hermione answered. "For the last week I've read an awful lot of things about me and my father, and I want the world to know the truth."

"Why don't you tell me the truth in your own words and I can ask questions if the need arises." Mason said, offering Hermione a reassuring smile.

"Okay. Well I guess first of all, it is true my father was The Dark Lord. I don't really think we need to get into what he was like years ago, that's all been established and I won't deny what he did." Hermione began. "However that was a long time ago, and he was no threat to anyone anymore. He was just an aging wizard with very little magic and strength. The night he was killed he was visiting the Ministry on business, given his reputation it wasn't safe for him to go during the day."

"Are you saying there was no ceremony to return him to health a couple of years ago?" Mason questioned.

"There was a ceremony to help him strengthen his magic, but Harry Potter wasn't supposed to be there. That was the fault of one of my father's old followers, who just couldn't let go of the past. He thought he was helping by turning the Triwizard Cup into a portkey, instead he just created mayhem and panic." Hermione lied.

"Was your father around for you when you grew up?" Mason questioned.

"Yes." Hermione smiled genuinely as she thought of her childhood. "Of course after the curse to remove his magic he was weak, but he was there for me. I grew up in a happy home with a loving father."

"Why don't we talk about the Death Eaters." Mason suggested. "Harry Potter accused you of controlling them, is that true?"

"Yes, I have control of the Death Eaters now, but it took a long time to gain control." Hermione replied. "Directly after my father's death, I didn't have control over them and frankly I couldn't have cared less what they did. I was mourning my father and that was more important to me. When I did take over I stopped the violence and announced it was time for change."

"What sort of change?"

"Everyone knows my father's beliefs on muggleborns, but I admit he went about trying to get his point across in the wrong way. My father was always a bit hot-headed and unfortunately he thought violence and domination would get his point across." Hermione said slowly. She hated to speak badly about her father, but knew it was the only way to establish herself as someone different to him. "I want to stop the violence, I think there's a better way to get your thoughts across. These days the Death Eaters are just a like-minded bunch of witches and wizards, who are all wanting the same thing for our world."

"Do you share his beliefs on muggleborns?" Mason asked.

"Yes." Hermione nodded. "I believe there is no place in our world for muggles. A lot of people think that, but my father's behaviour didn't exactly enamour him with people. Just because I have the same belief's doesn't mean I intend to go about things the way he did."

"What about the accusations your Death Eaters have been attacking the Order?" Mason asked.

"We don't attack anyone, not anymore." Hermione replied. "I admit before I took charge there might have been some altercations, but not since I've taken over. Now we're a peaceful organisation dedicated to trying to improve the wizarding world."

"So you didn't order Dumbledore's death?"

"Of course not." Hermione chuckled lightly. "How would I gain access to the school? From what I understand the Aurors investigated and found no signs of a break-in. Dumbledore's death is a complete mystery to me, and speaking as someone who lost their father in such a brutal way myself, I offer my sincere condolences to his friends and family."

"So what are your future plans?" Mason asked with a smile. "What do you intend to do with the Death Eaters?"

"I'm currently in the middle of a few business dealings. Nothing I can divulge at the minute, though." Hermione answered, knowing Lucius was making headway with finding her a suitable company to run.

"And may I ask what you think of the name Harry Potter called you, The Dark Lady?"

"I think it's a very fitting tribute to my father." Hermione smiled. "I must admit I quite like it, even though I'm not dark. I'm just a normal witch, looking to make her way in the world after the devastation of losing her father."

"What about your real name, do we get to know that?" Mason asked.

"I think I like the mystery of keeping that to myself." Hermione smiled. "I quite like the name, The Dark Lady, so for now I think that will do."

"The Dark Lady it is." Mason chuckled. "Now why don't you tell me a bit more about yourself and your beliefs on muggleborns."

Hermione smiled and told the journalist a bit more about her personal life, albeit nothing that could reveal her identity. She admitted to having a boyfriend, but she refused to name names, and she talked about what she liked to do in her spare time. However she really came to life as she spoke passionately about muggleborns and her belief they were tainting the wizarding world. Several times she noticed Mason nodding along with her, clearly agreeing with what she was saying.

"Before we finish, can I possibly take a few pictures?" Mason asked. "An article like this works better with a few pictures of the subject, it helps the readers connect with the interviewee."

Hermione was hesitant about having her picture taken, but relented when Mason agreed they could be long distance shots. After posing for a few pictures, Hermione summoned a house elf to get Lucius and said goodbye to the reporter. Once Lucius had escorted Mason off the premises, he returned to his study where Hermione had gone after her interview.

"I think you've got a fan there." Lucius chuckled. "Mason did nothing but talk about you all the way to the door."

"I hope that means the article will be good." Hermione sighed. "If this goes wrong, I'll need to rethink everything."

"It won't." Lucius reassured her. "Mason promised me an early look at the article tomorrow evening, but I'm sure it'll be complimentary. You're extremely eloquent and I'm sure you got your message across just fine."

"Let's hope so." Hermione muttered as she began removing her glamour charms and changed back into her normal clothes.

Once she was ready to go she said goodbye to Lucius, before activating her locket and retuning to Hogwarts. As she headed back to Gryffindor Tower, Hermione crossed her fingers that the article went down like she hoped. However just in case it didn't her mind was already whirling over a back-up plan, even though she hoped not to have to use it.


	24. A Positive Outcome

**A/N – Thanks for all the great reviews, I'm thrilled so many people are enjoying this story. I just want to address a few things in reviews regarding Hermione's interview. One review suggested that Hermione repeated herself too much in the interview, and looking back I do agree she maybe mentioned the Death Eaters too much. I've changed it slightly so she only mentions them when asked a direct question, but I might go back and change it later more when I have time. Another said she might have been too dark towards muggleborns. I agree she was pretty direct about them, but in this story Hermione isn't going to lie about what she believes. She is going to be quite open in her beliefs that muggleborns have no place in the wizarding world. I appreciate anything that can improve the story, so thank you to everyone who leaves a review.**

**I also just want to put a warning on this chapter for my reviewer, jayleaf1. This chapter contains a mature scene. It starts about half way past the chapter break, where Draco and Hermione are doing patrols and runs to the end of the chapter.**

* * *

Hermione spent the next couple of days after her interview anticipating the article appearing in The Daily Prophet. It was Wednesday before she was front page news and she had barely managed to glance at the headline before a hand was snatching the paper out of her grasp.

"I don't believe it." Harry declared as he grabbed the paper from Hermione.

"What's happening now?" Ron asked from the other side of Hermione. He never bothered to actually look at the papers on a morning as Harry always mentioned what was going on, for the last week his reaction had been more positive but judging by the disgust evident in his voice the papers were back to printing nasty stories about Dumbledore.

"The Dark Lady has given an interview." Harry spat. "And it looks as though it's been reported in a positive light."

"Where, let me look." Ron turned away from his breakfast and focused his attention on Harry.

Harry placed the paper on the table, where Hermione straightened it out and settled it in front of her. Since she was sitting in the middle both Harry and Ron could see the article. Leaning in the three friends began to read the story.

The headline simply read 'The Dark Lady Speaks' and Hermione was pleased to see Harry was right, it was a positive article. In fact it was very positive and even her father came out of it seeming a lot less dark than he really was. Accompanying the article was a long distance picture of her standing looking out over the gardens of the Manor. The picture was good enough to show her long, black hair and her good figure, but it wasn't enough for anyone to be able to really study her features and work out who she was.

"This makes her sound like a bloody saint." Harry muttered. "The lying cow is denying having anything to do with Dumbledore's death, and she's claiming there's been no attacks on the Order."

"And what's worse is whoever spoke to her believes her." Ron added. "Just reading the thing, you can tell whoever wrote it really likes her."

"Yeah, they're even trying to make her sound sympathetic." Harry said with a snarl. "Look at this bit here where she's described as a beautiful, young witch grieving for a father who she loved dearly."

"No matter what you think about her, Harry, she has lost her father." Hermione pointed out quietly. While she may not have actually lost her father, she knew that things could have easily worked out differently and she could have lost him.

"Who would mourn that monster?" Ron snorted.

"Only another monster." Harry answered.

Hermione clenched her fist under the table and it took every ounce of her self-control not to show Harry exactly what sort of monster she could be. Instead she ignored her friends hateful sniping and carried on reading the article. As well as laying out her views on violence, the article mentioned her views on muggleborns. Hermione was pleased that she sounded completely reasonable and logical and didn't come across as someone just ranting about something she disapproved of. Luckily she was clever enough for her arguments to be well thought through and hard to argue with.

"What are we going to do about this?" Ron asked.

"I don't know, but whatever it is we need to do it fast." Harry said. "We can't let this snowball or everyone will be loving The Dark Lady."

"Maybe this time we should talk to someone before going charging in." Hermione suggested. "We don't want to make things worse."

"Okay." Harry nodded reluctantly. "After breakfast we'll go and see either McGonagall or Kingsley."

"I think we'll have to go before breakfast finishes, we have got classes to get to you know." Hermione said. There was no way she was being late to class, just so Harry could go and whine about the article in the paper.

"You're right, we should go now." Harry said. Looking up at the Professor's table he found no sign of either McGonagall or Kingsley.

"But I haven't finished eating." Ron protested, looking down at his partly eaten breakfast.

"Hurry up then, we need to go." Harry told his friend.

Five minutes later Ron had quickly finished his breakfast and the trio left the Great Hall. Harry led the way and the trio ended up heading to the Transfiguration classroom. When they arrived they found McGonagall in her classroom, talking with Kingsley. The two Professors had the paper spread out on McGonagall's desk and they were clearly talking about the front page article.

"What do you three want?" McGonagall questioned, suddenly spotting the hovering trio.

"We wanted to talk about the paper." Harry said, stepping into the room. "What are we going to do?"

"I think you've done quite enough, Mr Potter." McGonagall huffed. "It's fairly evident this interview was retaliation for the one you gave. If you'd done what we said and let things blow over, this wouldn't be happening."

"I thought I was helping." Harry muttered. "I just wanted to clear Dumbledore's name."

"We know you were trying to help, but you really should have listened to us." Kingsley said. "Hopefully this time you will listen when we tell you to leave well alone. Don't go talking to the press, just let things blow over in their own time."

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Hermione pulled on his arm and shook her head at him. "Come on, we need to get to class."

Reluctantly Harry allowed Hermione to lead him from the Transfiguration room. All the way to their first class Harry complained about not doing anything, but both Hermione and Ron kept advising him to just do as the Order wanted. Hermione wasn't convinced that Harry was just going to sit back and do nothing, so she vowed to keep an eye on him.

**[][][][][]**

"So did you know about the interview?" Theo asked Draco the second they were in the privacy of the boys dorms.

All day the school had been buzzing about the interview The Dark Lady had given to the Prophet. But since other people were always around Draco's friends hadn't had the chance to talk to him about it.

"She may have mentioned it." Draco answered.

"Does this mean the pair of you are going public?" Blaise questioned, throwing himself onto his bed. "You were mentioned in the interview."

"There'll be no going public any time soon." Draco told his friend. To be honest it wasn't something he'd discussed with Hermione so he actually had no idea where she saw their relationship going. "And I wasn't exactly mentioned in the article. All it said was The Dark Lady had a wizard in her life in a romantic sense."

"Well unless she's seeing someone else, that was referring to you." Theo pointed out.

"It still doesn't mean we'll be going public." Draco responded. "Now if you don't mind, I need to take a shower before patrols."

Leaving his friends to continue gossiping about the article in the paper, Draco headed for the shower. After a shower, Draco pulled on his clothes and left the bedroom. By the time his friends had left the dorm room and had settled down in the common room. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting playing exploding snap, Blaise was bickering with Pansy about something and Theo was sitting chatting quietly with Daphne.

"I'm off." Draco announced. "See you guys later."

"Have fun with Granger." Pansy smirked. "Is she annoying you yet?"

"I've told you, I can handle Granger." Draco replied before he turned and left the common room.

After leaving the dungeons Draco made his way to the prefect's room on the fifth floor. The room was a cross between an office and a common room and it was where the Head students held meetings and did any other duties that needed to be done. Hermione and Draco didn't use the room too often as they tended to squeeze their Head duties into their other meetings. Today however they were doing late patrols together, although Draco was hopeful he could convince Hermione to blow them off and spend a bit of time with him.

When he entered the prefect's room, Draco grinned at the sight of Hermione bending over the desk as she sorted patrol schedules. Slipping quietly into the room, he shut the door behind him and silently locked it. Walking up behind Hermione he ran his right hand up her leg and under her skirt, while he pressed his body up against hers.

"Hello Draco." Hermione said, not looking up from the schedules she was sorting.

"You look very enticing bent over the desk like this." Draco muttered, pressing a kiss to the side of her neck as his hand squeezed her backside.

Hermione chuckled as she put down her quill and straightened up. Draco backed up enough so she could stand up, but he kept his right hand under her skirt and his left arm wrapped around her waist, keeping her pressed against him. Draco nuzzled into Hermione's neck and pressed kisses into her skin but when his left hand started snaking under her shirt, Hermione slapped his hand away.

"No, we're not doing this here." She insisted.

"I've locked the door." Draco replied. "Come on you know you want to." He whispered in her ear. "You want me to bend you back over the table and take you."

Hermione groaned quietly at the image Draco had just placed in her head, but she stayed strong and shook her head. "No, it's too dangerous. I'm not going to risk being caught."

Sighing Draco stepped back and let Hermione leave his embrace. He knew there was no point in arguing with Hermione once she'd made her mind up.

"You don't have to look so put out." Hermione chuckled as she turned round and spotted the pout on her boyfriend's face. "We can do patrols quickly and head to the Room of Requirement. I'm sure we can summon up a desk in there that you can utilise."

Draco grinned wickedly at Hermione as he announced they should be off on patrols. Patrol was tedious and passed without much incident. Walking around the school the couple were wary of looking too friendly so they pretty much ignored each other and whenever they did run into anyone they made sure to throw in a bit of sniping. Eventually they'd traversed the entire school and made their way to the Room of Requirement.

Hermione entered the room first, while Draco hid in an alcove to avoid been seen. Once Hermione was inside the room Draco made his way over to the hidden door and paced in front of it. When he entered the room, he grinned when he spotted Hermione sitting atop of a desk that was in the middle of their usual room.

"I take it the desk meets your approval." Hermione said.

"The desk does, but you don't." Draco replied. "I do believe I mentioned you being over the table, not on top of it."

Hermione quickly hopped off the table and leant over it, replicating the position she was in when Draco entered the prefect's room earlier. "Is this better?" She asked, looking over her shoulder and smiling at Draco.

"Much." Draco grinned, advancing on Hermione.

Within seconds he had her pinned against the table. Like in the prefect's room, his right hand slipped under her skirt while his left arm wrapped around her waist. Almost straight away Draco's eyes widened as his right hand crept up Hermione's leg and he found no barrier to the heat between her legs.

"Eager, were you?" Draco chuckled, stroking her naked backside.

"Well we don't exactly have much time." Hermione pointed out. "I need to be back in Gryffindor Tower soon."

"I'll try not to keep you too long, My Lady." Draco retorted with a chuckle as his hands got to work.

Hermione's shirt was soon unbuttoned and Draco's left hand trailed up her stomach and cupped one of her breasts in his hand. While his left hand was exploring her top half, his right slipped in between her legs. Draco moaned softly when he found her already wet for him. Pulling back slightly Draco flipped her skirt up, revealing her pert backside. Draco ran his hand over Hermione's bum before starting to undo his own trousers. All patrol Draco had been half hard as he thought about what was to come, but with Hermione bared before him he was fully aroused as his trousers pooled around his ankles. Stepping back up against Hermione, both his hands went round to her front as he rubbed himself against her.

Hermione moaned at the feelings and pushed back against Draco. "Stop teasing." She ordered in a ragged voice.

Draco smirked at the hint of her naturally bossiness coming through. Positioning himself at her entrance, he rolled his hips and buried himself deep inside Hermione. The couple both moaned at the feeling of being joined, but Draco didn't give either of them time to revel in the sensation before he was moving.

With little time available to them, Draco's pace was relentless as he roughly took Hermione from behind. For a short while the only sounds in the room were the pair's moans and heavy panting and the sound of their skin slapping together. The fast and furious pace of their lovemaking soon had Draco on the verge of his climax. Slipping his hand down Hermione's body, his fingers found her sensitive clitoris and he helped push her over the edge. The second Hermione started to convulse around him Draco let himself go, climaxing at the same time as his girlfriend.

After a far too short recovery period the pair reluctantly parted and started to tidy themselves up. Once they were decent they shared a long goodbye kiss before exiting the room one at a time and returning to their respective common rooms, each looking forward to the upcoming Christmas break where they would have more time to spend together.


	25. The Cellar

Christmas break couldn't come quick enough for Harry and he was thrilled when he was finally ensconced on the Hogwarts Express with only his friends and girlfriend for company. The last few weeks of school had been torture for Harry as he was ostracised and accused of all sorts by most of the students.

After that first article about The Dark Lady the papers were full of stories about her, even though she didn't speak out again or was even spotted out and about. The stories were all favourable to her and less favourable to Harry. Since Harry had accused her of various things and she'd denied them the papers declared he was lying and trying to cause trouble for an innocent witch. As if the papers blaming him wasn't bad enough, almost all of the school seemed to feel the same way. Harry had gotten into numerous arguments with people when they'd called him a liar. A lot of people were even questioning his account of what had happened at the end of the Triwizard Tournament. The Dark Lady had implied that her father hadn't been out to cause trouble for years and most people were happy to believe her. A couple of people had even called Harry a murderer for killing Voldemort at the Ministry.

As if that wasn't enough more people were openly agreeing with The Dark Lady's views on muggleborns. The fact the Slytherins were saying she was an inspiration and spoke a lot of sense wasn't a surprise to Harry, but he was surprised by the number of other students claiming that The Dark Lady made some valid points. However the last straw came a week ago when Lavender casually stated that she didn't think The Dark Lady was all that bad and that maybe Harry had misjudged her because of her father. The resulting fight had almost led to Ron and Lavender splitting up, but realising she might lose her boyfriend Lavender backed down and apologised for her actions. Things were still slightly tense between Harry and Lavender, but for Ron's sake Harry was trying not to let her get under his skin.

After a peaceful ride The Hogwarts Express pulled into the King's Cross station and everyone alighted. Hermione grabbed her belongings and said a quick goodbye before disappearing into the crowds to find her parents. Lavender said a longer goodbye to Ron, which included an obscene amount of public kissing and groping, before also departing. With their friends gone Harry, Ron and Ginny set off in search of their family. After a few minutes they found Molly waiting for all three of them.

"Harry, you can head home from ours." Molly told Harry, after greeting all three of the teenagers with a hug.

"Is everything okay with Sirius?" Harry asked anxiously. Occasionally the newspapers would call on the Ministry to reinvestigate Sirius's pardon, but so far he hadn't heard about them doing so.

"He's fine, we're just being cautious." Molly reassured Harry.

Harry wasn't completely reassured by Molly's words, but he let himself be swept up in the arrangement to return to the Burrow. The sooner he arrived at the Burrow, the sooner he could leave and go home to check on Sirius.

Leaving the Burrow was more difficult than Harry had anticipated. Fred and George were at the Burrow when they got back and Molly insisted Harry stayed for his dinner. With the twins, Ron and Ginny all begging him to stay Harry felt he had little choice but to accept. When he mentioned contacting Sirius to let him know, Molly informed him that he already knew and it was planned before they arrived that Harry should stay for dinner. The fact that Sirius already knew of the plans and was okay with them reassured Harry somewhat and he settled down for a lively dinner with the Weasley's.

Once dinner was over and the twins left for their small flat over the shop Harry insisted in going home. With an arrangement to meet Ron the following day, Harry said goodbye to Ginny and flooed home to Grimmauld Place.

"Sirius." Harry called when he arrived in the front room and found no sign of his godfather.

After lugging his trunk up to his room, Harry checked Sirius' room before heading back downstairs. Harry had just entered the kitchen when the door to the cellar opened and a frowning Sirius emerged. Upon seeing Harry his frown disappeared and was replaced by a wide smile.

"Harry, how's school?" Sirius asked as he embraced his godson.

"Not great." Harry admitted. When Molly had asked the same question over dinner he'd lied and said everything was fine, but he always confided in his godfather.

"All this stuff in the papers?" Sirius guessed as he began filling the kettle to make a pot of tea.

"Yeah." Harry sighed, sitting down at the table. "I was an idiot Sirius. I ran off to the press without thinking of the consequences and now everyone thinks The Dark Lady is brilliant. I handed her a golden opportunity to discredit the Order and she grabbed it with both hands."

"You didn't mean for it to happen, Harry." Sirius soothed as he made two cups of tea and carried them to the table. "You couldn't predict she was going to be so manipulative."

"I guess not, but I still feel bad." Harry said.

"Don't. I'm sure we can fix it." Sirius smiled reassuringly.

"How?" Harry asked. "She has the whole world eating out of the palm of her hand. You should hear people at school backing her ridiculous muggleborn ideas. She's even got good people convinced she's talking sense."

"People won't be so keen on believing her when they find out she's hiding her true identity." Sirius said.

"Damn, I forget all about that." Harry frowned in frustration. "I should have mentioned that she's Narcissa Malfoy."

"It's a good job you didn't." Sirius told his godson. "You can't go around accusing people like the Malfoy's. They have too much money and influence to mess with. Before we publically out her, we need proof of who she really is."

"How do we get that?"

"I'm working on it." Sirius grinned mischievously. "I promise I'll tell you more tomorrow, but I think it's time you went to bed. We can talk more when you're fresh, I know the train ride can take it out of you."

"Yeah, it can." Harry remarked, stifling a yawn. "But before I go, I want to ask about today. Why weren't you there to pick me up? Is there something going on I should know about?"

"We were being cautious." Sirius told his godson. "Everyone in the Order who works at the Ministry are keeping their ears open in case an investigation is going to begin, but we just didn't want someone to see me today and cause a fuss which may have pushed the Ministry into acting."

"What happens if they do start an investigation?" Harry asked.

"I'm not going back to Azkaban, so I'll run." Sirius answered. "Like before I'll keep in touch and try and see you as often as possible. And I don't want you to worry about having to go back to those awful muggles, if the worst should happen Molly and Arthur will take you in."

Harry nodded, hoping the worst wouldn't happen and they could unmask The Dark Lady before he lost Sirius again.

**[][][][][]**

"So where's Sirius?" Ron asked.

"He said he something to do when we were having breakfast and by the time I went upstairs to get dressed and came back he was gone." Harry replied.

Ron and Harry were playing wizard's chess in the front room of Grimmauld Place. Ron had arrived mid-morning and the pair had been in the front room ever since. They had briefly considered heading off to finish their Christmas shopping, but they didn't like to leave without informing Sirius where they were going.

"I'm hungry." Ron announced as Harry gained a rare victory over him.

"Let's go and see if we can find something to eat." Harry suggested.

Leaving the chess board where it was in case they wanted to resume their play after lunch the boys headed into the kitchen. Just as they were scouring the cupboards for food the door to the cellar opened and Sirius emerged. Just like the previous evening he was wearing a frustrated frown on his face.

"What are you doing down there?" Harry demanded. "You were down there last night as well."

"I'll tell you over lunch." Sirius replied.

Together the three wizards managed to rustle up a few chicken sandwiches for lunch. Sirius also brewed a pot of tea as the three sat down to eat and talk.

"Come on then, what's going on?" Harry looked expectantly at his godfather the moment they were all seated.

"Well, you know last night I said I was working on a way to prove who The Dark Lady was?" Sirius questioned, and Harry nodded. "Well, my solution is in the cellar. Not that's he's being very helpful, mind you."

"He?" Ron's eyes widened comically as he looked warily at the cellar door. "Are you saying you have someone in the cellar?"

"Yeah, a Death Eater." Sirius nodded. "I was out drinking a few night ago and he came in. I spotted his mark and couldn't resist grabbing him when he left the pub. I figured I could get him to talk, he's only a young lad and I figured he would break easily."

"And he won't break?" Harry asked.

"No, he's a stubborn little bugger. He won't give up The Dark Lady's identity." Sirius sighed.

"Maybe we can help." Harry suggested.

"I doubt it, but feel free to come back down to the cellar with me after we've ate."

Harry and Ron accepted Sirius's invitation and once they had ate the three wizards descended into the cellar. Sirius took the lead and even though he assured Harry and Ron that the Death Eater was restrained he told them to get their wands out just in case. Wands at the ready Harry and Ron followed Sirius into the dimly lit cellar, eager to meet their prisoner.

The Death Eater in question was chained to the wall at the far side of the cellar. When he looked up Harry and Ron both recognised him as the former captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, Marcus Flint. Harry and Ron also both noticed the heavy bruising on the wizard's face and the fact that he seemed in pain when he moved.

"Are you finally going to speak?" Sirius asked, slowly advancing on Flint. "Just tell us about The Dark Lady and we'll let you go."

"I don't think so." Flint responded. "I'll never survive talking about her."

"And you'll never survive not talking about her." Sirius countered. "Don't for one minute think I'm bluffing here, I'll make it hurt if you don't talk."

"And she'll make it hurt a lot worse if I do talk." Flint chuckled humourlessly. "Do your worst, it'll be nothing compared to what The Dark Lady would do if I talked."

"You would really die to protect her?" Harry asked, stepping forward.

"Yes." Flint nodded. "And even if I wasn't loyal to her, I still wouldn't talk."

"Why?" Ron questioned as he also stepped forward.

"I've seen what happens to those who betray her and I'm not suffering that fate." Flint said, looking up at the trio in defiance. "Do you worst, you don't scare me."

After that Flint refused to say any more, even once Sirius lost his temper and began torturing him. Once he had lost consciousness, Sirius decided that was enough for the day. Disappointed in their lack of results, the trio headed back into the kitchen.

"She must be a right bitch to have her followers so scared of her." Ron commented.

"If they're all so scared of her, how will you ever get anyone to talk?" Harry asked Sirius.

"I don't know." Sirius sighed. "What you need is someone who isn't worried that she'll kill them, plus they have to be weak willed enough to crack under pressure."

"I think I might know someone like that." Harry said quietly.

"Who?" Sirius and Ron asked at exactly the same time.

"Malfoy." Harry replied with a grin. "He knows his mother won't kill him for talking, and let's face it he's not exactly the bravest person is he? I'm sure with a bit of pressure, we can get him talking."

Sirius and Ron both looked impressed with Harry's idea and before long a full blown conversation was going on about how they could get the information they wanted from Draco.


	26. Caught in the Act

Hermione's first week of the Christmas holidays was mainly spent with her parents and catching up with Lucius. Voldemort and Kathleen were very impressed with the way Hermione had handled the press and ensured she had a good public image. Lucius also reassured her that everything was running smoothly and the stories about the Order would keep on coming.

On the twenty third, Hermione held her large party for all the Death Eaters, with the smaller party due to be held on New Year's Eve. As usual the party was a great success and everyone had a great time. The party was also the first time Hermione had any real opportunity to spend with Draco and she spent most of the night with him. She was very aware that the other Death Eaters realised there was something going on between her and Draco, but as long as she didn't treat him any differently to the others she figured it didn't matter if people knew of their relationship.

While the party was great fun, Hermione also found out something slightly worrying that evening. Marcus Flint was missing and no-one had seen him for over a week. Marcus's father was a Death Eater and Hermione was convinced he wouldn't just try to abandon the Death Eaters. A few of his friends were also Death Eaters and they insisted something sinister must have happened to him. Hermione had spoken to Lucius and asked him to look into it as soon as he could.

Hermione was also planning on asking her father if there was any way she could track Marcus using his mark, but that would have to wait until she returned home. After the party Hermione had gone home with Draco and stayed the night with him. Currently the pair were lounging around in the front room of the Manor after exchanging Christmas presents. Lucius and Narcissa had popped out to grab a few last minute essentials for Christmas the following day, giving Draco and Hermione the whole Manor to themselves for a few hours.

"I really should be going." Hermione sighed, not making any attempt to remove herself from Draco's arms.

"You can stay a bit longer." Draco replied.

"Aren't your friends coming over?" Hermione asked.

"Not until later this afternoon." Draco answered as he checked the clock. It wasn't even one o'clock yet and he didn't expect his friends until after five.

"I suppose I could stay for a while longer." Hermione conceded, not wanting to leave Draco just yet.

Draco grinned at Hermione as he leant down and connected their lips. As it tended to do when the pair were alone, things soon escalated and became more heated. Draco's shirt quickly came off, while Hermione was soon in just her lacy black bra. As the pair continued to kiss and grope at each other Hermione moved so she was straddling Draco.

"Your parents better not walk in on us." Hermione muttered as Draco's hand reached under her skirt and stroked her through her lacy knickers.

"They'll be gone ages." Draco replied.

"They better be, or you are a dead man." Hermione warned.

Shooting Draco a warning look she reconnected their lips as her hand slid in between them. Expertly Hermione managed to undo Draco's trousers and with a bit of wriggling from the couple, he was ready for action. Draco returned his hand under Hermione's skirt and pulled her knickers to one side, all the time teasing her and making sure she was ready for him. Slowly Hermione sunk down onto Draco, causing them both to moan in pleasure. Draco's hands dropped to Hermione's hips as he helped her move atop of him. After a few minutes they leant forward and reconnected their lips yet again as their bodies moved so effortlessly together.

The couple were so lost in each other that they failed to hear the floo network sounding, not once but four times. They were also so caught up in what they were doing they failed to notice they had an audience, until one of the boys watching quietly swore as they realised who was riding Draco.

Hermione froze at the sound and whipped her head around to find Blaise, Theo, Crabbe and Goyle staring at them in shock. Draco had also stopped moving and was gaping at his friends, unsure of what to say.

"What the hell are you playing at Draco?" Theo hissed, breaking the silence. "Why are you shagging a mudblood?"

"Especially with who you're involved with." Blaise added. "It's asking for trouble. Not to mention banging a mudblood is just plain disgusting."

"I couldn't agree more, Blaise." Hermione said as she recovered from the shock. Carefully she climbed off Draco and found her top. Once she was fully dressed she picked up Draco's shirt and handed it to him. "I think you should cover up, babe." She said, gesturing to his lap and his still exposed manhood.

Draco hastily jumped up and began tidying himself up. He still had no idea what Hermione was going to do, so he thought it was best if he just kept quiet. No matter what happened he was pretty sure that once they were alone he would get an earful for convincing her to stay a bit longer.

"Are you going to explain what's going on?" Theo asked Draco, still in shock over what they had walked in on.

"Well we were in the middle of having sex." Hermione retorted. She had pushed her embarrassment of being caught to the side and was now entering Dark Lady mode.

"I wasn't asking you, mudblood." Theo sneered at Hermione.

"Draco, answer Theo's question." Hermione said to her stunned lover.

"It's like Hermione said, we were having sex." Draco said, unsure on what exactly he should have said.

"But what about _her_?" Blaise asked pointedly.

"You mean The Dark Lady?" Hermione asked with a laugh. "I can assure you she doesn't mind the sex, but she's not over keen on the interruption."

Blaise and Theo gaped at Hermione and she could see their brains working overtime, trying to piece together everything they had seen and heard. Crabbe and Goyle were just standing back with neutral expressions, but something told Hermione they'd already worked out who she was.

"It can't be." Blaise muttered.

"It's just not possible." Theo added, equally bemused.

"Let me know when you've accepted what's right in front of your face." Hermione told the duo as she sat back down on the sofa, taking Draco with her. "Greg, Vince, take a seat over there." She called to Draco's other friends.

As Crabbe and Goyle settled down on chairs over the other side of the room Blaise and Theo turned to look at them in surprise.

"Did you know about this?" Blaise asked.

"No." Crabbe shook his head. "But it was obvious the second she spoke that she's The Dark Lady. She's using the same commanding voice as The Dark Lady, but normally Granger's voice isn't as firm."

"Plus, Draco would never be foolish enough to shag someone else when he was with The Dark Lady." Goyle added.

From over the other side of the room, Hermione was impressed with Crabbe and Goyle's logic. Draco had mentioned that her voice as The Dark Lady was different to her normal voice, but she hadn't been totally convinced that it was that different. She knew she was more confident as The Dark Lady, but she hadn't realised just how much affect it had on her voice.

"I can't believe we've been outthought by Crabbe and Goyle." Theo muttered as he dropped into a seat.

Blaise followed Theo in sinking onto a chair. "Are you really The Dark Lady?" He asked, still unable to believe Hermione Granger was really Voldemort's daughter.

"Yes." Hermione nodded and told the four boys a brief outline of her life and why she was posing as a muggleborn. "Of course you weren't supposed to know who I was just yet, so I'm going to have to swear you all to secrecy."

"We won't tell a soul." Theo promised.

"I know and I do trust you, but I have to protect myself. I can't have anyone finding out who I am." Hermione said. "You four will also have to make sure you don't treat me any different in school."

"We can manage that, we'll just ignore you." Blaise said with a grin.

"Can I ask something?" Theo questioned.

"Of course." Hermione replied.

"Were we ever going to find out who you really were? With the interview you did you presented yourself in your Dark Lady public face, so how can you ever reveal your true identity without creating suspicion?"

"I can't." Hermione answered with a shrug. "I'm going to reveal my true identity to the Death Eaters once I finish school, but to the outside world I will continue in my Dark Lady public persona. Even if I'd revealed myself straight away, I never would have been trusted. Not after spending years posing as a muggleborn."

"What happens if your real identity leaks out when all the Death Eaters know about you?" Blaise asked.

"Then I'll have to deal with the person who sold me out." Hermione said, her eyes flashing darkly. "The secrecy charm on the marks will let me know if anyone reveals my true identity."

"What will happen to your plan if you are revealed?" Theo asked. "As you said, people won't trust you if they knew you'd been posing as a muggleborn for all these years."

"If I'm revealed I'll have to go back to running things in my father's style." Hermione answered. "I may think this is the best way for me to achieve power, but I'm not opposed to using my father's methods. If I have to I will take control using force and I will decimate anyone who stands in my way."

"Wow, the rumours are right, you can be terrifying." Blaise remarked, looking at Hermione in surprise.

"Told you so." Draco smirked.

Hermione laughed and shook her head at the boys. After a few more minutes of talking she got Blaise, Theo, Crabbe and Goyle to swear they wouldn't reveal her identity to anyone, or they would face her wrath. She did however give the boys permission to discuss her amongst themselves.

"I have to be going." She announced, once she was confident her secret was safe. Leaning over she gave Draco a quick kiss, before whispering into his ear. "I'll deal with you next time I see you."

Draco gulped nervously, but he was reassured when Hermione pulled back and she was smirking. No doubt she would berate him for letting them get caught, but he knew she wasn't truly mad at him.

Leaving the boys to gossip about her, Hermione flooed home. Her father was in the front room when she arrived home and Hermione went to settle down on the sofa next to him.

"Where's mum?" She asked.

"She went to the shops." Voldemort answered. "You know how fussy she gets over Christmas, everything has to be perfect."

Hermione nodded and the pair talked about the previous night's party for a while. Despite not being able to attend, Voldemort still liked to keep up to date with the gossip and he liked to ask questions about his favourite Death Eaters or the ones he thought had a lot of potential.

"There is something rather worrying though." Hermione told her father. "Marcus Flint is missing, no-one's seen him for over a week."

"Has he fled?" Voldemort asked.

"He's not the sort. His whole family have supported you for years, both his father and uncle are Death Eaters." Hermione replied. "I also spoke to a couple of his friends and they swear he would never leave."

"Are you worried about the Order having him?" Voldemort questioned.

"It's not something they've ever done before, but I guess it's a possibility. The trouble is, I don't know how to find out if they do have him. If they have him they'll make sure Harry, Ron and I know nothing about it and most of them don't trust Severus. With Dumbledore dead, he's very much out in the cold."

"You could try snatching a member of the Order and forcing them to talk, but that could backfire on you given the way you're playing things with the press."

"I'm not risking anything like that." Hermione shook her head. "I was wondering if there was any way I could use his mark to trace him. I tried calling him last night, but there was no response. Either he has run and he's ignoring me, or he can't get to me."

"In special circumstances you can use the mark to help you find people, but I don't think it will help you in this case." Voldemort said.

"Why not?"

"Finding someone using their mark takes a special connection with the person you're trying to find. You need to be emotionally connected to them to be able to tune into them." Voldemort explained. "The only person I've ever been able to do that successfully with is your mother. I once managed fragments with Lucius, but I've never been able to use it on one of my Death Eaters I have very little contact with."

"How does it work?" Hermione asked.

"Like always when it comes to the mark, a lot of it is concentration." Voldemort replied. "You have to really focus on the person you're trying to find and fill your mind with thoughts and memories of them. That's why it's someone you need to be close with, the stronger your thoughts and memories the more in tune with that person you become."

"So do you just think of someone and you find out where they are?" Hermione asked, thinking that sounded far too simple.

"Nothing as simple as that I'm afraid." Voldemort chuckled. "If you can make the connection, you'll feel what the other person feels and if the connection is really strong you can see what they see and hear what they hear. Hopefully that will be enough to help you find the person you're looking for."

Hermione nodded in understanding. She didn't for one minute think this would work with Marcus, but she was at least going to try. Her father's explanation of the connection however had got her wondering about the time he'd used the connection to find her mother. After asking about it, Hermione settled down to listen to the story of how her father used the connection to find her mother shortly after they were married and she was involved in a building collapse in Russia. The connection had told Voldemort enough to know Kathleen was alive and he'd used what he'd seen and heard to locate her and save her.

Later that night Hermione tried using the mark to connect with Marcus, but as expected she had no luck. Despite her initial failing Hermione kept trying throughout the holidays, but she just couldn't make a connection. Wherever Marcus was they would have to find him without her being able to lead them to him, she just hoped that happened before something too bad happened to him.


	27. Back to School

Hermione was already ensconced in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express when Harry, Ron, Ginny and Lavender entered. Hermione hadn't spotted her friends on the platform so she had boarded the train and secured them a compartment.

"How was your Christmas?" Ginny asked Hermione once greetings had been exchanged by everyone.

"Great." Hermione smiled. "Did you guys all have a good time?"

Ginny and Lavender happily told Hermione about their break, but Harry and Ron were more hesitant. When Hermione questioned them further, they just said their Christmas was good. Hermione suspected that Harry had just been down after the previous term and that as his best friend, Ron was sympathetic to his friend's suffering.

After spending an hour or so catching up, Lavender pulled a gossip magazine out of her bag and she and Ginny settled down with it. The girls invited Hermione to join them, but she nicely refused the offer and pulled the latest edition of the Daily Prophet from her bag.

"Are the stories about Dumbledore still going on?" Harry asked when he spotted what Hermione was holding. "I haven't looked at the paper all holidays. Sirius reckons I shouldn't read it anymore, that way the lies won't get to me."

"That actually sounds like a good idea." Hermione replied. She knew Harry's vow wouldn't last and before long he'd be scouring the papers every day.

"So are the stories still going on?" Harry asked again.

"There's been bits and pieces, but nothing major." Hermione answered. "Although I don't know about today, I haven't read the paper yet. Do you want me to tell you if I find anything?"

"No." Harry answered quickly before looking unsure of himself. "Or maybe you can tell me if it's something major."

Hermione nodded and set about reading the paper. The first few pages held nothing of interest, but she quickly found an article that would interest Harry. Even though she hadn't read the paper, Hermione knew what story was due to appear and she had a surprised gasp ready to emit as soon as she spotted the story she wanted.

"What is it?" Harry asked the second the gasp left Hermione's mouth. "Is it more about Dumbledore?"

"No, this is about Lupin." Hermione answered.

"What about Lupin?" Ron asked.

"Apparently there's been a suspected werewolf attack near to where he lives." Hermione told her friends. "The article is insinuating he was responsible."

"That's not true." Harry exploded. "He's so careful, he wouldn't attack anyone."

"We know that Harry, but a lot of people are cautious when it comes to werewolves." Hermione said patiently.

"Yeah, most of them can't, or in some cases just don't want to control the beast within them." Lavender added. "Werewolves are scary."

"Lupin isn't scary." Harry retorted. "He's a good man and would never hurt anyone."

"Good intentions doesn't make him any less scary." Lavender replied. "You can never tell when he might snap. When he was teaching in third year, my father was furious when he discovered a werewolf had been in the castle all year."

"I bet he was one of those that wrote to Dumbledore to complain." Harry remarked, glaring at Lavender.

"Of course he was. Dumbledore had no right to let a werewolf teach us without informing our parents." Lavender said. Before Christmas she had backed down in fear of losing Ron, but this time she wasn't going to change her opinions for anyone.

"Dumbledore didn't have to inform anyone about who he was hiring, the running of the school was his business." Harry snapped.

"Don't be so naive, Harry." Lavender snorted. "He had a moral right to tell people the potential danger their children faced in going to school with a werewolf in residence. Why do you think the Ministry suddenly sent Umbridge in fifth year and we've now got an Auror on the staff? After Lupin and Moody they didn't trust his judgement and now there's a new law that states all Professors now have to be approved by the Ministry."

"How do you know the Ministry approves all Professor's?" Ginny asked.

"My father's on the educational committee at the Ministry that deals with all matters related to Hogwarts." Lavender answered.

"So do you know if McGonagall is going to be the permanent Headmistress?" Ron asked his girlfriend.

"I have no idea." Lavender shrugged. "My father's never mentioned her, he just mentioned this new law to my mother when it was passed."

Harry looked as though he was going to say something else to continue on with the bickering but Ron distracted him by asking if he fancied a game of exploding snap. While Ron was distracting Harry, Ginny regained Lavender's attention by pointing out pictures of a new wizarding band. With both Harry and Lavender busy the tension slowly faded away as Hermione turned back to her paper.

After reading all about the suspected werewolf attack, which the paper had not so subtly blamed Lupin for, Hermione carried on flicking through the pages. After a few minutes she came across another story that was of interest to her, the disappearance of Marcus Flint. After having no luck in finding Marcus, Hermione had encouraged his father to go to the press and the Ministry and make him an official missing person. Hopefully with attention on his disappearance someone might come forward with some information they could use to track him down.

"Is there anything else in the paper?" Harry asked, noticing Hermione seemed to be reading something else intently.

"I'm just reading about a missing person, Marcus Flint." Hermione replied, not looking up from the paper. Since she never raised her head, she failed to spot the worried look Harry and Ron shared at the mention of what she was reading about.

"Flint?" Ginny frowned as she lifted her head from the magazine her and Lavender was pouring over. "Wasn't he a Slytherin?"

"Yeah." Hermione nodded. "According to this he hasn't been seen since before Christmas. His poor family are worried sick."

"Why are you so concerned about a missing Slytherin?" Harry asked with a sneer.

"I'm not concerned, I just feel sorry for his family." Hermione said, looking up at Harry and Ron. "I know you don't like Slytherins, but they do still have feelings. His poor family are going through hell not knowing what's happening to him or if he's even safe. Maybe you should think about how Molly would feel in the same situation before you go around make snide remarks about what house he was sorted into."

"Sorry Hermione." Harry muttered, slightly taken aback by her fiery response.

"Apology accepted." Hermione said quickly, realising she may have been over zealous in her response to Harry.

Smiling at Harry, to let him know everything was alright between them, she returned to the paper. Luckily Harry and Ron returned to their game of exploding snap and her outburst wasn't mentioned again as they continued their journey without further incident.

**[][][][][]**

The first weekend of the term, Draco had organised for the Slytherin Quidditch team to take over the pitch all day Sunday. As captain he wanted to finish his Hogwarts career with a victory over Gryffindor. Even though Slytherin had won the Quidditch cup since he'd been on the team they had never beaten Gryffindor, or to be more precise he had never beaten Potter. It really bugged Draco that he'd never been able to get one over on his rival and he was determined to remedy that. The match with Gryffindor wasn't until just before Easter break, but Draco planned on practicing as much as possible until then.

All morning the team had performed basic drills and practised their individual skills, before they broke for lunch. After lunch Draco had gathered a few of the reserve players and students who loved to play and set up a mock game with the first team. Instead of playing in the game himself, Draco handed seeker duties over to his reserve, while he took on a more managerial role. Flying around the pitch he watched every single player, barking out orders and advice when needed.

"Damn it Blaise, you have three goals to defend." Draco bellowed from behind the goal when Blaise let an easily saveable shot fly through the lowest hoop.

"I do know that." Blaise shot back.

"Then act like it, move your line of defence further down." Draco ordered. "If you fly just slightly lower you can cover all three hoops easier."

"If I fly too far down, I'll neglect the top hoop." Blaise argued. "The lowest hoop is the hardest to score through whereas the top hoop is easier to hit."

"Bollocks." Draco snorted. "Get out of the way and let me show you how it's done."

Before Blaise had a chance to react Draco had flown up beside him and ordered him to get behind the goal. Sulking Blaise had flown round the goal posts and watched as Draco set a slightly lower guard than the one he favoured. When one of the chasers flew towards Draco, Blaise grinned as he spotted that the chaser's approach signalled he would aim for the top hoop and Draco was too low to save the shot.

"Crap." Blaise muttered as Draco quickly rose up and blocked the shot with ease, before swooping back down and blocking a shot going into the bottom hoop a moment later. "The bloody git's going to be insufferable."

Sure enough when Draco turned around a second later he had a smug smirk on his face. "See Blaise that is how it's done. Now take your guard slightly lower."

Muttering to himself, Blaise positioned himself in front of the goalposts as the game carried on. Draco remained watching Blaise, until he was sure his friend had listened to his advice and had changed where he took up guard. Once Blaise was doing what he wanted he set off to observe the other members of the team.

Half an hour later and he'd interfered in all three of the chaser's games and told them to do things differently. At one point he'd even grabbed Crabbe's beaters bat from his hands and told him he wasn't hitting the bludger hard enough. However after his demonstration of how to hit the bludger had almost flown straight into Blaise's face and very nearly unseated him from his broom, Draco had sheepishly handed the bat back to Crabbe.

"Okay, that's enough for today." Draco called just before tea time. "We've got another practice next Thursday and in two weeks we'll do another whole day's training again."

"Kill me now." Theo muttered as he dismounted his broom. "I can't stand another whole day of being bossed around by captain fantastic up there."

"Tell me about it." Blaise said, agreeing with his friend. "He thinks he knows everything."

"He doesn't know everything, did you see him hit that bludger?" Crabbe laughed.

"See him, I was almost blinded by the bugger." Blaise grumbled.

"I saw him." Goyle remarked with a laugh. "I thought for a minute he was going to fall off the broom and land on his backside."

"It might have knocked some humility into him." Theo commented. "I swear his head is getting bigger by the day."

"True." Blaise laughed as the foursome headed off towards the changing rooms.

High up above his friends, Draco watched them leave. Once he was alone Draco released the snitch and spent the next hour honing his seeking skills. With the light fading Draco finally called it a night and flew back to the ground. After making sure the snitch was placed back in the ball box in the supply cupboard, Draco headed for the changing rooms.

By the time Draco had showered and changed it was practically dark outside. Cursing himself for staying outside so long in the midst of winter, Draco began hurrying back towards the castle. As he looked forward to getting into the warmth and having something to eat he didn't notice the dark shadows creeping along behind him.

The first thing Draco knew about being followed was when something struck him on the back of his head. Crying out in pain he fell to the floor, before he was struck a second time and everything went black.


	28. Raising the Alarm

**A/N - Even though I'm still working on part 3 of The Dark Lady, I've wrote over 30 chapters, so I've decided to publish this part more often. I will now be publishing on every weekday and I estimate it will take about 3 weeks to finish publishing. **

* * *

Monday morning found four Slytherins gathered around Draco's still made bed. The previous night when the boys had gone to bed the blond still hadn't come back to the dorm room, but they hadn't been overly worried. It wasn't the first time Draco hadn't returned to the dorm until after curfew, but this was the first time he'd failed to return all night.

"Where do you think he is?" Goyle asked.

"Maybe he's still practising his Quidditch skills." Crabbe suggested with a laugh.

"More likely he's with Hermione practicing other skills." Blaise responded.

"But it's not like him to stay out all night." Goyle argued.

"Yeah, but before we would have questioned him on who he was with. Now we all know who The Dark Lady is and that he'll be with her." Blaise responded.

"But how would Hermione explain staying out all night?" Theo questioned. "Someone would notice if she was missing all night and I really don't think she would risk anyone asking questions about her whereabouts, she's too careful for that."

"You're right." Blaise nodded thoughtfully. "So if Draco hasn't been with Hermione, where is he?"

"Maybe he had an accident in the Quidditch changing rooms." Crabbe said. "We should go and check."

The boys all agreed, each of them feeling guilty that they hadn't responded sooner to Draco being missing. If he was lying somewhere hurt, they would all feel really bad for not being better friends to him.

Forgoing breakfast the four Slytherins headed down to the Quidditch pitch and the nearby changing rooms. Inside the changing rooms they found no sign of Draco. His uniform was hanging in its normal place, his broom was in its usual place and a check on the equipment revealed the snitch had been returned.

"Well he's not in here." Blaise announced, emerging from the empty shower blocks.

"We can keep an eye out for him as we head back to the castle." Theo said. "We have to get to Herbology, so hopefully he'll show up there."

As they headed to the greenhouses around the back of the castle the friends kept an eye out for any sign of their friend. Draco was nowhere to be seen however and he didn't even turn up for Herbology. When Professor Sprout inquired about Draco's absence, Blaise quickly said he wasn't feeling well.

"Why did you say that?" Theo hissed to his friend.

"Because I don't want to get Draco into trouble." Blaise replied in a whisper, ensuring no-one nearby could hear them. "I think we need to speak to Hermione and see if she's seen Draco. I don't want to go around saying he's missing if he's either with her or doing something for her."

"I never thought of that." Theo mused. "He could be off doing something as a Death Eater."

"Exactly. Until we've spoken to The Dark Lady, we need to cover for him." Blaise said.

The covering for Draco continued in History of Magic when he still didn't show up for the second class of the day. Sitting in the back of the room the four friends discussed what to do about Draco and came up with a plan for break time. While Crabbe and Goyle would head down to the dungeons to see if there was any trace of Draco retuning to the dorms, Theo and Blaise would try and talk to Hermione.

At break time the foursome split into the pairs and set about trying to find Draco. With Crabbe and Goyle searching the dungeons for clues, Blaise and Theo set off in search of Hermione. After nearly five minutes the pair spotted Hermione walking through the courtyard. Unfortunately she was in between Potter and Weasley and the trio seemed deep in conversation.

"Any ideas on how we approach her?" Theo asked.

"Do you have any scrap bits of parchment on you?" Blaise asked, rummaging in his bag for a quill.

Theo fished about in his bag and found some parchment. Handing it to Blaise, his friend quickly scribbled a note on the parchment and hid it in his hand. Realising what Blaise had in mind Theo grinned, he just hoped it worked and no-one spotted what they were doing.

"Are you ready?" Blaise asked, knowing Theo understood what he was planning.

"Let's go." Theo nodded determinedly.

Together the two Slytherins set off across the courtyard, angling themselves to walk straight into the three Gryffindors. A few minutes later the two Slytherins barged into the Gryffindors, expertly manoeuvring themselves between Hermione and her friends. As they did so Blaise slipped the note into Hermione's pocket and managed to give her a pointed look.

"Watch where you're going, you bloody gits." Ron yelled, pushing Theo away from him.

"You should watch where you're walking." Blaise sneered. "You're getting in our way."

"We were here first." Harry countered. "You barged into us."

"What can we say, we didn't notice you there." Theo grinned. "We don't pay attention to insignificant rubbish like you three."

Before the Gryffindors had a chance to respond, Blaise and Theo sauntered off. As they left they heard Hermione stopping her friends from chasing after them and prolonging their disagreement. Once they were out of the courtyard Blaise led them towards the nearby classroom that he had asked Hermione to meet them in.

"Did she get the note?" Theo asked, perching on a desk.

"Yeah, she knew what I was doing." Blaise responded. "I just hope she can get away from the dense duo."

"Of course she can, she can run rings around the pair of them." Theo snorted.

A couple of minutes later Theo was proved right as the door opened and Hermione slunk into the room. Quickly locking the door and silencing the room, Hermione turned to glare at the duo.

"What the hell was that?" She hissed. "I thought I made it clear that you don't acknowledge who I am in school."

"Sorry, but Draco's missing." Blaise said quickly, hoping the mention of Draco would calm Hermione's temper.

"What do you mean missing?" Hermione frowned.

"He didn't come back to the dorm last night and we haven't seen him all morning." Theo explained. "We were wondering if he was doing something for you."

"No, I didn't see him yesterday." Hermione shook her head as dread started to creep up on her. "Have you told anyone he's missing?"

"Not yet." Blaise answered. "We wanted to check with you before saying anything. We didn't want to mention anything in case he was either with you or doing something for you."

"You need to tell someone." Hermione said. "I have a bad feeling about this, he wouldn't just disappear."

"Do you think his disappearance has anything to do with Marcus going missing?" Blaise asked.

"I hope not." Hermione sighed. After a bit of discussion she and Lucius had decided the most likely answer to Marcus's disappearance was that the Order had him, or possibly someone who opposed the Death Eaters, but it was all just guess work, they had no actual proof of anything.

"Crabbe and Goyle are double checking the dorm, but if they don't find anything we'll go and tell Snape." Theo said.

"Good, make sure he takes this seriously." Hermione replied. "I want Draco found, and I want him found quickly."

Nodding Blaise and Theo rushed out of the classroom and headed for the front hallway where they had arranged to meet Crabbe and Goyle. When Crabbe and Goyle arrived they shook their heads in disappointment and announced there was no sign of Draco in the dungeons. He definitely hadn't been back there since that morning and it didn't look as though he had visited during the night and taken anything.

"We're going to Snape." Blaise announced. "This is getting serious."

**[][][][][]**

After the bombshell dropped on her by Blaise and Theo, Hermione took a few minutes to try and compose herself. The awful feeling that Draco was in serious trouble was starting to consume her and she had to fight hard to control her fear. As much as she tried to tell herself there was a simple explanation and once Snape knew of the situation Draco would be found, Hermione still didn't quite believe it. For Draco to just vanish like he had, something had to have happened to him.

Just to be sure Draco wasn't around the school somewhere, Hermione took a deep breath and summoned him via his mark. She waited until the bell to end break sounded, before accepting that he wasn't coming. Even if he'd been over the other side of the school, he would have arrived before the bell sounded.

Reluctantly dragging herself out of the classroom, Hermione headed to her next class. The class before lunch was Ancient Runes and it was a class that Draco and Blaise were normally in. As she expected neither of the Slytherins showed up and Hermione spent the entire lesson worrying over what was happening with Snape. She just hoped the Potions Professor was taking Draco's disappearance seriously and was starting a search for him. Hopefully Blaise not attending class meant he was with Snape, getting the search underway.

By the time she headed down to the Great Hall for lunch, Hermione was desperate for news. As she entered the room she was contemplating trying to catch one of Draco's friends to find out what was happening. That plan soon stalled however when Hermione entered the room to find most of the Professors gathered at the front of the room and no food on the tables.

"What the hell?" Ron's voice sounded from behind Hermione. "Where's lunch?"

"I don't know." Hermione muttered, more concerned with the gathered Professors at the front of the room. Turning her attention towards the Slytherin table she found the seventh years huddle together, all looking worried.

"Everyone take a seat, now." McGonagall ordered loudly.

The students who hadn't yet taken a seat settled down at the four house tables. As the last few students trickled into the room, Hermione looked around and found that the rest of the staff had also gathered in the Hall.

"What do you think's going on?" Harry whispered.

"I don't know, but it better be bloody quick. I'm hungry." Ron grumbled.

"Now everyone is gathered, I have an important announcement to make." McGonagall said, quieting the Hall and getting everyone's attention. "Draco Malfoy is missing, he hasn't been seen since yesterday evening. Classes are cancelled for the rest of the day and after lunch everyone is to return to their common rooms while a search gets underway."

"We want to help." Blaise called.

McGonagall turned to Kingsley and Snape and the three had a quick conversation before the Headmistress turned back to address the Great Hall. "Seventh years will help with the search." She announced. "For now I want you all to get a bit of something to eat, before we begin."

"Why do we have to help with the search?" Ron muttered as the food appeared on the table.

"I know, it's so unfair." Harry grumbled. "What's it got to do with us if Malfoy has gone wandering off?"

"You wouldn't be saying that if it was anyone else that was missing. If it was a missing Gryffindor you two would be the first to demand action." Hermione retorted, trying to keep her temper under control. She could feel her anger and worry building and she knew it wouldn't take much for her to explode and lose her cool.

"I suppose." Harry mumbled as he began to eat.

Hermione picked at her food and after what seemed like an eternity the dishes were cleared and McGonagall started dishing out orders. Most of the Professors had already headed out to search for Draco, but a few remained behind to sort the students out. The prefects from fifth and sixth year were told to ensure everyone went back to their common rooms and stay there until further notice. Once only the seventh years were left, McGonagall split them into small groups and handed them an area to search.

"I want everyone back in the Great Hall at four o'clock." McGonagall announced. "If you find something on your search send your Patronus to a Professor. Don't worry about getting it to speak, just send it and we'll come running."

Hermione, Harry, Ron and Lavender had been put in a group together and once they were free to go they headed outside. The group had been tasked with searching the area around Hagrid's hut and the first few inches of the Forbidden Forest.

"Do you think they've got people in the forest?" Lavender asked, peering into the dark shadows as they scoured the area in front of the trees.

"I would think so." Hermione answered. "McGonagall will want to have the entire grounds searched before calling in back-up."

"Back-up?" Harry questioned. "Who's she going to call?"

"First of all I would think she would contact Malfoy's parents. In fact I'm surprised they haven't already been informed." Hermione said, although she was guessing McGonagall wanted to ensure Draco really was missing before worrying Lucius and Narcissa. "Then I would guess the Aurors would come into play."

"The Aurors?" Ron queried. "Is there any need for Aurors?"

"Of course there is." Lavender told her boyfriend. "Malfoy's gone missing, of course the Aurors need to investigate. He could be the victim of foul play."

"Or someone could have just given him what he deserves." Harry retorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked, glaring at Harry.

"I just mean, he's a nasty bully and maybe someone gave him a taste of his own medicine." Harry shrugged.

"Yeah, with a bit of luck he's suffering somewhere." Ron remarked.

Hermione glared at the duo before turning and storming off in the opposite direction. If she stayed around Harry and Ron much longer she would completely lose it and attack them.

"What's up with her?" Ron asked, watching Hermione as she stalked over to Hagrid's hut and started prowling around his garden.

"Maybe she's just as disgusted with you two as I am." Lavender replied sharply. "Honestly, sometimes the pair of you are just horrible. I know you don't like Malfoy, but he's missing and could be hurt. Try showing a bit of compassion for a fellow human being."

Leaving a stunned Harry and Ron behind her, Lavender went storming over to where Hermione was. Ignoring the boys for the rest of the afternoon Hermione and Lavender continued their search. By the time they returned to the Great Hall they hadn't found anything and it soon became clear no-one else had been any more successful either.

"Thank you all for your help." McGonagall said to the students as they regrouped in the Great Hall. "If you'll head back to your common rooms, dinner will be served there. I don't want anyone leaving their respective common room until a Professor comes to get you."

"You're not giving up, are you?" Pansy cried, trying not to sob. It was clear from her appearance that she had been crying for some time.

"No, we're not giving up." McGonagall reassured Pansy. "It's just time to expand the search. Mr Nott, Mr Zabini, if you two go with Professor Snape you can run over exactly what you know."

As Snape passed with Blaise and Theo, Hermione was pleased when she heard they were going to contact Lucius. Hopefully she could talk to him soon, but his presence would hopefully wield some results in the search. One thing Hermione was certain of was that Lucius would quickly make Draco's disappearance official and the Aurors would be crawling all over the school very soon.

Hermione reluctantly left the Great Hall with the other students and headed back to Gryffindor Tower. The confinement to Gryffindor Tower wasn't ideal, but Hermione knew she would have to deal with it for now. Luckily once they entered the common room everyone was sitting gossiping about Draco's disappearance and Hermione was able to slip up to the dorm, claiming she had a headache.

Alone in the dorm Hermione pulled the curtains around her bed, before placing a protective bubble around the bed that prevented anyone from bothering her and hid any noise she might make. Trying to concentrate on memories of Draco, Hermione set about trying to locate her lover. Within a few minutes she knew she wouldn't be able to locate him, she was just too anxious and couldn't concentrate.

Lying back on the bed, Hermione shut her eyes as tears started to squeeze out. Within minutes she was crying profusely as she let her worry about Draco out. Anything could be happening to him, and at the minute Hermione was powerless to help him. As her tears finally started to subside, Hermione tried to locate him again, but yet again she wasn't calm enough to be able to concentrate fully.

"I will do this." Hermione vowed out loud. "I will find you, Draco."


	29. Making a Connection

"Draco!"

Hermione sat up in bed with a start, her boyfriend's name falling from her lips. A sharp pain pierced her side and Hermione let out a low moan as she clutched at her stomach. For the next few minutes she continued to feel pain in her torso and even her right shoulder began to throb. As it always was these days her bed was silenced so her moans of pain went unnoticed by her sleeping roommates. It didn't take Hermione long to figure out the hurt she was feeling wasn't actually hers, it was Draco's.

Once she figured out the pain was Draco's, Hermione shut her eyes and tried to concentrate. It had been three days since Draco had gone missing and despite the hours she'd spent trying to locate him, this was the first time she'd felt a connection. Obviously her persistence and the fact he was the only thing on her mind had worked and she'd somehow managed to connect with her boyfriend. While Hermione still couldn't see or hear anything that could help her find Draco, she sensed enough to know he was suffering. Wherever he was someone was hurting him and the thought of Draco suffering was making Hermione's blood boil.

Once the pain had subsided, Hermione jumped out of her bed and began getting dressed. It was still really early, but Hermione knew when her dorm mates woke up they wouldn't find it strange she wasn't around as she was no stranger to early mornings. Moving quietly she gathered her things and crept out of the bedroom and left Gryffindor Tower.

Dodging into a deserted classroom, Hermione pulled out her locket and thought of the Manor. Seconds later she was arriving in Lucius's study, where she found Lucius sitting at his desk. Despite the early hour Hermione wasn't surprised to find Draco's father up and about. Since Draco had gone missing she knew neither him nor Narcissa had gotten much rest.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" Lucius asked, looking up when Hermione arrived in his study. "Is everything okay?"

"I think I've made the connection with Draco." Hermione said, explaining what she'd felt that morning.

"At least it's something." Lucius sighed. "But don't mention it to Narcissa. She's in a bad enough state as it is, without knowing he's suffering."

"I just wish I could get more information about where he is." Hermione replied sadly.

"Don't push yourself." Lucius warned. He'd spoken to Voldemort about the connection and knew how hard it was to even make a connection, let alone use it to locate someone. "I know you're doing all you can to find him."

"How are things going on your end?" Hermione asked. "Have you got any leads?"

Lucius was utilising the Death Eaters to help find both Draco and Marcus. A section of them had already been looking for Marcus, but with Draco missing even more people were helping.

"Not a thing." Lucius replied, frustration evident in his voice. "And the Aurors are bloody useless, they've found nothing at the school."

For the last couple of days the Aurors had been a massive presence in the school as they searched for Draco. The entire castle and grounds had been thoroughly searched and the search had now expanded into Hogsmeade. So far that wasn't proving any more fruitful in the hunt for Draco, it looked as though he had just disappeared into thin air. Hermione wasn't even having any luck if working out if the Order had Draco. The members of the Order in and around school seemed totally clueless as the blond's whereabouts. She was starting to lean towards the idea that if the Order did have Draco, only a select few knew about it, or it was someone acting alone. Lucius himself had even subtly looked into the Order, and he couldn't find any evidence that it was them holding his son.

"I need to be getting back." Hermione sighed. "I hate having to carry on as though I'm not worried about him."

"I know, but he wouldn't want you to blow your cover." Lucius told Hermione.

Hermione nodded once as she stood up. "I'll tell you one thing when I find whoever has taken him, I'm going to make them suffer. They will pay for what they're doing to Draco."

"Yes, they will." Lucius agreed, knowing Hermione wasn't going to let anyone get away with hurting Draco. He just hoped that they found Draco before anything too bad happened to his son.

After promising to return later on, Hermione headed back to school. She arrived back at Hogwarts in time to head down to the Great Hall for breakfast. As she was entering the Great Hall, she found herself entering behind her friends and a quick mention of a morning trip to the library pre-empted any questions they might have asked.

"What do you think is going on?" Harry asked as they entered the Great Hall to find the Minister of Magic standing in front of the Professor's table.

While the Minister and Aurors had been around the school and had conducted group interviews with the students, they normally avoided meal times. After the first afternoon of cancelled lessons school continued on as normal, well as normal as it could with the mystery of a missing student hanging over the school.

"Maybe they have news on Malfoy." Ginny suggested as they took their seats.

A minute or two later it seemed as though they were going to get an answer to their question as the Minister turned around and called for silence. Once he was sure he had everyone's attention he began to speak.

"First of all I would like to say that sadly we are still no closer to locating Mr Malfoy, but I promise we will find him." The Minister began, giving the students a minute to digest the lack of progress before he carried on talking. "Secondly I want to announce that Professor Minerva McGonagall has been relieved of her head duties and she will go back to teaching full time. The role of Headmaster will be filled by Professor Severus Snape, who will continue to teach Potions this year as well." There was a muttering amongst the students which the Minister ignored as he turned to Snape. "Professor Snape, would you like to say a few words?"

Snape nodded and the room fell silent as he stood up. "Things will be continuing on as they have been this year, despite the change in headship. I also want to call a prefect's meeting at lunchtime. I expect to see every prefect and the Head Girl in the prefect's room on the stroke of lunch."

With his announcement Snape sat back down and the Great Hall was awash with gossip and chattering. For the first time since Draco's disappearance smiles were to be seen on the faces of the Slytherins but almost every other student looked grim at the news Snape was the new Headmaster.

"I can't believe the Ministry have demoted McGonagall." Ron huffed. "And worse they've replaced her with blood Snape."

"I bet you Lucius Malfoy had something to do with this." Harry muttered darkly as he watched Snape conversing with the Minister. "Everyone knows the Minister does whatever he wants."

"Can you really blame him for wanting rid of McGonagall?" Lavender asked. "She's in charge and she let a student be kidnapped. Any parent would demand action."

"Lavender's right." Ginny said. "McGonagall's pretty lucky she's still got a job. Lucius could have easily called for her to be sacked completely."

"I still don't like it." Ron grumbled. "Snape's going to be a dreadful Headmaster."

"Lucky for you, we've only got a few more months of school left." Hermione remarked. "You don't have to put up with him for too long."

"That's a relief." Harry remarked as Ron wholeheartedly agreed with him.

"What do you think the prefect meeting is about?" Ginny asked Hermione in an attempt to change the subject.

"I have no idea." Hermione shrugged. "It's the first I've heard of it."

"Maybe Snape wants to appoint a new Head Boy." Lavender suggested. "Until Malfoy comes back Hermione is the only one in charge and it's not really fair to make her do all the work."

"I guess that makes sense." Harry said. "I mean we don't even know if Malfoy is coming back, he might never be found."

Under the table Hermione clenched her fist and dug her nails into the palm of her hand. The glee in Harry's voice at the prospect of them never finding Draco was almost too much for her to handle. She hadn't let herself go anywhere near the dark thoughts like that were loitering in her head as she knew she wasn't ready to face that possibility. Just thinking of how he was suffering was painful enough but to think she might never see him again was just too agonising to contemplate.

"Hey, that means I'm in the running for the job." Ron remarked cheerfully, giving Hermione something to concentrate on other than Draco.

"How do you work that one out?" Ginny asked her brother.

"Well without Malfoy there's only three seventh year male prefects, so the way I see it I have a one in three chance at becoming Head Boy." Ron explained.

"Why don't we just wait and see what happens at lunchtime." Hermione suggested.

Ron agreed but all morning he kept up his remarks about possibly becoming Head Boy. By the time they arrived in the prefect's room at lunch he'd even roped the Ravenclaw prefect, Michael Corner, and the Hufflepuff prefect, Ernie Macmillan, into his theory. When Snape entered the room all three seventh years were discussing their merits as potential options to take over as Head Boy. The conversation soon ground to a halt when they realised Snape was present and even the confusing presence of Blaise Zabini with the Potions Professor didn't elicit any more talking.

"Let's make this quick." Snape called. "With Draco missing we're a prefect short, not to mention the fact he was also Head Boy. Blaise will be taking over as a temporary Slytherin prefect and he'll also fill the role of Head Boy."

"You can't do that." Ron blurted, forgetting himself.

"You will find, Weasley, that as Headmaster I may do whatever I wish." Snape snapped at the redhead, turning his deathly glare in his direction. "I suggest you stop your arguing before you lose your position as a prefect and I replace you with someone else."

Ron glared hatefully at the new Headmaster as he slumped back into his seat. Snape waited until he was sure no-one else was going to argue, before dismissing the prefects and keeping the two head students behind.

"I trust I'm not going to have any problems from you." Snape said to Hermione, almost daring her to argue so he could demote her from the position of Head Girl.

"No sir." Hermione replied. She was actually really thrilled with what had just happened as Snape had just made communicating with Draco's friends much easier.

"Good." Snape nodded, although his disappointment in not having to demote Hermione showed though. "Now show Mr Zabini what's what and tell him about his duties. I expect you to help your fellow student in this difficult time."

"Of course Professor." Hermione smiled sweetly at the Potions master, who sneered at her before sweeping out of the prefect's room.

"That was rather fortunate." Hermione remarked once Snape was gone and she'd locked and silenced the room.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it when he approached me and offered me the job." Blaise said. "At least now we can meet up and talk if needs be."

"That's what I was thinking." Hermione said. "Anyway, how are things down in the dungeons? Do you have any new leads?"

She knew Blaise and his friends continued to search for Draco every day. Despite the Aurors supposedly scouring the place the Slytherins were openly scornful of their abilities and were looking for Draco in their spare time.

"Not a thing." Blaise sighed. "It's like he vanished into thin air. I just wish we'd stayed down at the Quidditch pitch with him."

"You weren't to know this was going to happen." Hermione reassured the wizard. "It's not the first time Draco put in an extra hour of practice and nothing happened, you weren't to know this time would be any different."

"I suppose." Blaise sighed, not sounding totally convinced. "What about you?" He asked, looking up at Hermione. "Are you having any luck finding him? Lucius mentioned you were trying to find him using his mark."

"I got a bit of something this morning." Hermione answered, telling Blaise about waking up in pain. "Hopefully when I try again properly I can get more."

"At least we know he's alive." Blaise said quietly.

"Yeah, he's alive, but he's clearly been tortured or something." Hermione replied, sitting down and dropping her head into her hands. "It hurt so much Blaise, and I was only getting echoes of his pain. He must have been in agony and it kills me that I can't save him."

Blaise looked at Hermione, unsure of what to do. He was used to her being the formidable Dark Lady, but right now she was hurting and needed someone to comfort her. Hoping he wasn't overstepping the line he sat down next to her and put his arm around her and drew her into his side.

"We will save him." He said soothingly. "Draco's strong, he'll hang on for us to get to him. I promise we will get to him, and when we do, heaven help the idiot who took him because The Dark Lady is going to kick their arse."

Hermione smiled softly at Blaise's words as she let herself believe them. They would find Draco and he would be fine. Losing him just wasn't an option and Hermione wasn't going to let that happen.


	30. Winter Air

**A/N - Thanks so much for all the great reviews. I'm pleased people are liking Lavender, as she has a much bigger part to play in the 3rd part of the trilogy. As for Draco, it's not quite time for him to be saved, but this chapter does offer an insight into where he is and what exactly is happening to him. **

* * *

In the dimmed lights of the Room of Requirement, Hermione sat crossed legged on the floor in front of the fire. The room was the same room Hermione and Draco used to meet up in, minus the large bed in the corner and an added couple of chairs around the fire. It was Sunday afternoon, exactly one week after Draco had disappeared, and Hermione had been joined by his friends. Despite a week of frantic searching they were still no closer to finding the blond boy and it was starting to seriously worry them.

Hermione was currently trying to locate Draco using his mark. After her initial break through Hermione had expected the connection to become better, but it was still intermittent. Whenever she did make the connection it was usually when she wasn't trying. Most mornings she woke up in pain and just the previous afternoon she had doubled over in the common room. Luckily her excuse of menstrual cramps had Harry and Ron backing off and not pressing her any further as she rushed off to her room.

"Maybe we should take a break." Theo suggested, when Hermione let out another growl of frustration.

"No, I'm going to do this." Hermione insisted. "Whenever I do make the connection he's in so much pain, we need to find him."

"Okay, but I think you're going to have to try and relax a bit." Blaise said slightly hesitantly. He wasn't keen on giving orders to The Dark Lady, but he really felt she needed someone to try and keep her grounded.

"I know." Hermione sighed. "I'm trying, you four just carry on as though I'm not here. But don't make too much noise."

Taking a deep breath Hermione closed her eyes and shut out the quiet sounds of Draco's friends talking. Filling her head with thoughts of Draco, she replayed all the significant moments of their relationship. She remembered the masquerade ball when they first kissed and their walk a few months later when Draco told her how much he liked her. She also remembered revealing herself to him and how their relationship developed from there. She thought of the way he used to kiss her, how his hands felt running over her skin, what it felt like to have him inside her as he gave her orgasm after orgasm. She also remembered the times they would meet up, and just talk to each other about everything and anything. She thought about the nights at the Manor, when he'd take her up on the roof and they'd lie for hours stargazing. Mostly she remembered how happy and settled she was in his presence, and how he also seemed to know just what she needed.

Slowly Hermione's memories began to fade out and she could feel her body aching. She knew she was feeling what Draco was feeling and she was determined not to get too anxious and lose the connection. Making sure she kept her breathing steady, Hermione summoned up an image of Draco in her head as she focused in on him. His body was aching terribly and she could feel the hard wood under his body as he lay on the floor. Wherever he was it was a small space and despite Draco not being claustrophobic she could sense the lack of space was starting to bother him.

Try as she might Hermione still couldn't see or hear anything that Draco could. She could however feel his hands were tied behind his back and one ankle had what felt like a chain around it. As she took another deep breath Hermione suddenly got a whiff of air, fresh, crisp winter air. As strange as it sounded Hermione could almost smell the coldness in the air and she knew it wasn't coming from the Room of Requirement as it was toasty warm and had a fire roaring to block out the icy weather outside.

Suddenly Hermione's eyes flew open and she jumped up from the floor. Pacing the floor she thought of what she wanted and suddenly a window appeared in the back wall of the room.

"Whoa, how did you do that?" Crabbe asked as Hermione charged over to the window and flung it open.

"The room gives you whatever you want, even if you're inside." Hermione replied. Taking a deep breath, she smelt the same crisp winter air she'd smelt moments ago. Turning to the four Slytherins who were watching her curiously she gave them a wide smile. "Draco's nearby."

"Where?" Goyle asked excitedly. "Can we go to him?"

"I don't know where exactly, I just know he's nearby." Hermione said, turning back and staring out of the open window. In the distance she could see Hogsmeade and she wondered if he was imprisoned somewhere in the small village.

"How?" Blaise questioned. "Did your connection thing work?"

"It worked." Hermione answered, shutting the window and heading back to where the boys were sitting. "I could feel him. He's being kept somewhere confined, his hands are tied behind his back and one of his legs is chained. Wherever he is the floor is made of a hard wood that's very uncomfortable."

"Is he hurt?" Theo asked.

Hermione nodded sadly. "I don't think it's that bad yet, but he's aching all over."

"How do you know he's nearby though?" Blaise asked. "The Aurors have searched Hogsmeade and it's the only place nearby."

"I could smell the air." Hermione admitted, knowing it probably sounded stupid to base her declaration on a smell. "It smells exactly like the air outside, cold and crisp with the lingering traces of frost in the air."

"I didn't know air smelt." Goyle muttered.

"I think I know what you mean." Theo said to Hermione. "You can tell the difference between the air in summer and the air in winter. You can even tell the difference between the air indoors and the air outdoors."

"Exactly, it was though wherever Draco was someone opened a door and let in a blast of air." Hermione said.

"But how do you know it's nearby?" Blaise queried. "It's cold all over the country, we've just had a cold snap and according to the forecast there's more snow on the way."

"I can't explain it, but I just know he's nearby." Hermione insisted. "That air felt like the air up here in the highlands."

"It does make sense that whoever has Draco is keeping him nearby." Theo said. "The Aurors have tracked all magical means of transportation the night Draco went missing and the following day and there was nothing untoward."

"Do you really trust the Aurors?" Blaise asked in surprise.

"No, but I trust Lucius." Hermione answered. "He's also had a few of the Death Eaters run the same tracking spells. Whoever took Draco either moved him without using magic or they've got him nearby."

"But if he's nearby we're back to the fact Hogsmeade has being searched." Blaise argued. "And not just by the Aurors, the Death Eaters have searched as well."

"I know." Hermione sighed. "I don't know, maybe he was moved while the search was happening and brought back once it'd been give the all clear."

"Or maybe he was there all along and he's just in a really good hiding place." Theo added.

"You're determined he's nearby, aren't you?" Blaise asked, looking between Hermione and Theo.

"It's just a hunch." Hermione shrugged. "But one I'm not giving up on until I'm proven wrong. I'm going to see Lucius and see if he can organise another search of Hogsmeade or something. Maybe there's some nearby properties we've missed."

Leaving the boys to the rest of their afternoon, Hermione pulled out her locket and headed off to the Manor. Maybe she was just being a foolish optimist, but she was convinced Draco wasn't too far away and she was determined to find him.

**[][][][][]**

Draco took a shaky breath as he tried not to move. His whole body ached and he just couldn't get comfortable. Although considering he was stuck in the smallest room he'd ever been in, had his hands magically tied behind his back and his right leg shackled to the wall, he doubted he could find a comfortable position even if his body wasn't hurting like mad.

Draco had no idea how he'd been snatched from Hogwarts grounds. All he could remember was heading back towards the castle after Quidditch practice. He had a vague recollection of being hit and falling to the ground, but after that everything was a blank until he woke up in the room he was currently imprisoned in. When he first woke up, he'd been alone and confused. The back of his head had been bleeding and Draco could feel his hair matted to his skull as the blood dried. He'd quickly discovered his hands were tied behind his back and no amount of wandless magic was breaking the bindings that held them together. His right ankle was also shackled to the wall and he had just enough chain for him to walk the length and breadth of the small wooden room he was confined in. The room was a rectangular shape with the length of the room being significantly longer than the breadth. Sitting against the back wall, Draco could just say stretch his legs out in front of him so he tended to lie and sit the other way.

Considering he'd been knocked out Draco had no idea how long he'd been held prisoner. After he'd regained consciousness, it was a fair few hours before anyone showed up to enlighten him about what was going on. When the door to his prison was pulled open Draco had come face to face with his kidnapper, Sirius Black. Since then Sirius had visited him regularly, demanding to know about The Dark Lady and when Draco refused to talk he'd been tortured and in a couple of cases physically kicked and punched.

The sound of a door opening and footsteps walking towards his prison had Draco forcing himself to sit upright. By the time the door was swung open and Sirius's smirking face was in sight, Draco was sitting up and had his usual defiant mask on. No matter how bad things got, Draco was determined to never let Sirius see how much pain he was in.

"I've got a couple of people who'd like to see you." Sirius remarked, stepping into the room and magically unlocking the chain around Draco's ankle. "Now don't try anything silly, or I'll be forced to hurt you." He warned darkly as he grabbed Draco's arm and hauled him to his feet.

Draco knew better than to fight Sirius, so he let him haul him up and drag him from the room. Even if he wanted to fight back, which he did, Draco knew it was pointless. Until he could untie his hands he was practically useless and wandless magic hadn't helped untie them and his wand wasn't in his pocket anymore. Draco couldn't even try hurting Sirius and running with his hands tied because very early on Sirius had stood on his left ankle, possibly fracturing it. A bit of wandless magic had helped with the pain and the swelling had subsided, but Draco could barely walk on it, let alone run.

Once they were clear of the room, Sirius threw Draco to the floor. Draco landed on identical wooden boards as the ones in his small room and when he looked up, he saw why that was. He wasn't being kept in a small room, he was being kept in a hidden room. Along the far wall someone had placed a fake wall a few feet into the room and once the door to his jail was shut, it magically changed to blend in with the wall. Unless you knew the room was supposed to be slightly larger you could be standing in the room and never know he was hidden behind the fake wall. With that revelation Draco had to wonder if anyone had been in the vicinity and never even realised he was mere metres away from them.

"There you are, we've been waiting." Sirius beamed, drawing Draco's attention to the door that was opening again.

When the familiar figures of Potter and Weasley entered the room Draco wasn't sure if he should be shocked, or annoyed that he hadn't figured they were involved sooner. In the end he decided to go for annoyed. The second he saw Sirius he should have known his bloody awful godson and his ginger sidekick would have been involved in his kidnapping. To be honest Draco was surprised they hadn't showed up before now.

"How are things going Sirius?" Harry asked, ignoring the blond who was sitting on the floor.

"Not too bad, he's near to cracking." Sirius responded.

"Like hell I am." Draco spat. "I'm not telling you bastards anything."

"We can make you tell us." Ron said, stepping forward in what Draco presumed was supposed to be a menacing way.

"As if." Draco replied with a smirk. "I'm not telling you what you want to know, so you might as well bugger off now."

"Where's the fun in that?" Harry grinned. "We have a few hours to kill, it'll be nice to see you writhing in pain."

"Go ahead, torture me." Draco told the two boys. "I still won't tell you who The Dark Lady is."

"We know who she is, we just need proof." Harry retorted. "And you're going to give it to us."

Even though it hurt his already painful ribs, Draco laughed at the deluded duo. They were so convinced that The Dark Lady was his mother that even if he was to deny it they wouldn't believe him. Draco had thought about telling them The Dark Lady was indeed Narcissa, but he didn't for one minute think that would result in him being released, if anything he reckoned it might hasten his death. Something about the way Sirius looked at him told Draco he wasn't getting out of there alive, so he was keeping quiet in the hopes of buying himself some time and hopefully Hermione or someone would find him and rescue him. Although Draco's thoughts of being rescued had risen slightly with the presence of Potter and Weasley. He knew enough time hadn't passed for it to be the holidays at Hogwarts, so he was being held close enough to the school that they could get to him. And judging from the stories Hermione had told him about events of third year he was rapidly coming to the conclusion he was being held at the Shrieking Shack.

"We best get cracking boys." Sirius said. "We don't have much time."

"Last chance Malfoy." Ron said, pulling out his wand. "Tell us or suffer the consequences."

"Piss off." Draco sneered.

"Crucio!" Ron suddenly yelled, waving his wand in Draco's direction.

The curse hit Draco with some force, but it wasn't anywhere near as strong as what Sirius had hit him with. Closing his eyes briefly Draco battled against the pain before opening his eyes and smirking at Weasley. The furious redhead redoubled his efforts, causing Draco to hiss slightly, but he still didn't fall to the floor the way he knew Weasley wanted him to.

A second later Draco was on the floor as a second Cruciatius curse hit him from Potter's wand. Potter's curse had a bit more bite to it than Weasley's, but alone it still wouldn't have been enough to cause Draco to collapse. However the combination of the two curses, hitting him from two different directions was actually rather painful and more than enough to have him hitting the floor in pain.

Despite the pain he felt Draco was determined not to let the two Gryffindors see how much they were affecting him. Luckily the pair got tired before he did and gradually the pain lessened before the curses were lifted almost simultaneously. Draco had barely had a chance to catch his breath before Weasley stormed over to him and kicked him right in the stomach. The kick happened to hit right over an already sore rib and Draco couldn't help the small grunt of pain that left his lips as he felt his rib break. Potter was next to add his boot to his body, kicking him in the shoulder which Draco heard Sirius tell him was already badly bruised.

Draco managed to lift his head enough to see Potter and Weasley smirking down at him. Before he could react however Sirius had hauled him to his feet and dragged him back into his hidden room. Throwing Draco on the floor, causing both his broken rib and bruised shoulder to throb, Sirius quickly re-shackled his ankle and left the room. Even through the shut door Draco could hear the laughing of Potter and Weasley and he was pleased when the noises faded and he knew he was once again alone.

After doing what he could to heal himself with the limited wandless magic at his disposal, Draco curled up on the floor and closed his eyes. Ignoring the pain he focused on Hermione, remembering everything they'd shared and everything he hoped they had to experience in the future. She was the main thing getting him through his torture and he swore if he was ever rescued he would tell her exactly how he felt about her, he would tell her that he loved her.


End file.
